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Lewendon-Evans, Harry Edward. "Understanding, normativity, and scientific practice." Thesis, Durham University, 2018. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/12780/.
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Understanding, Normativity, and Scientific Practice Harry Lewendon-Evans PhD Thesis Department of Philosophy Durham University 2018 Recent work in epistemology and philosophy of science has argued that understanding is an important cognitive achievement that philosophers should seek to address for its own sake. This thesis outlines and defends a new account of scientific understanding that analyses the concept of understanding in terms of the concept of normativity. The central claim is that to understand means to grasp something in the light of norms. The thesis is divided into two parts: Part I (chapters one to three) addresses the question of the agency of understanding and Part II (chapters four to five) focuses on the vehicles of scientific understanding. Chapter One begins with an account of understanding drawn from the work of Martin Heidegger, which presents understanding as a practical, normative capacity for making sense of entities. Chapter Two builds on Robert Brandom’s normative inferentialism to argue that conceptual understanding is grounded in inferential rules embedded within norm-governed, social practices. Chapter Three argues that normativity should be located in the intersubjective nature of social practices. The chapters in Part II draw on and extend the account of understanding developed in Part I by focusing on how models and explanations function within scientific practice to facilitate scientific understanding. Chapter Four investigates the nature of model-based understanding. It defends the claim that constructing and using models enables a form of conceptual articulation which facilitates scientific understanding by rendering scientific phenomena intelligible. Chapter Five considers the connection between understanding and explanation through the role of explanatory discourse in scientific practice. I argue that the function of explanations is to sculpt and make explicit the norms of intelligibility required for scientific understanding. This thesis concludes that scientific understanding is an inherently norm-governed phenomenon that is unintelligible without reference to the normative dimension of our social and scientific practices.
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Graham, Robert 1950. "Understanding ArtsCanada : history, practice and idea." Thesis, McGill University, 1988. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=61852.
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Rhodes, R. A. W. "Understanding intergovernmental relations : Theory and practice." Thesis, University of Essex, 1985. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.355657.
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Endres, Tino [Verfasser], Alexander [Akademischer Betreuer] Renkl, Shana Akademischer Betreuer] Carpenter, and Andrea [Akademischer Betreuer] [Kiesel. "Specificity and enrichment in retrieval practice : : understanding retrieval practice in education." Freiburg : Universität, 2020. http://d-nb.info/1205256873/34.
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Haines, Helen M. "Understanding participatory ergonomics : developing theory and practice." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.275290.
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Oswald, W. Andrew (William Andrew). "Understanding technology development processes theory & practice." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/90699.
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Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, System Design and Management Program, 2013.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 75-77).
Technology development is hard for management to understand and hard for practitioners to explain, however it is an essential component of innovation. While there are standard and predictable processes for product development, many of these techniques don't apply well to technology development. Are there common processes for technology development that can make it predictable, or is it unpredictable like basic research and invention? In this thesis, after building a foundation by looking at product development processes, I survey some of the literature on technology development processes and compare them to a handful of case studies from a variety of industries. I then summarize the observations from the cases and build a generic model for technology development that can be used to provide insights into how to monitor and manage technology projects. One of the observations from the product development literature is that looping and iteration is problematic for establishing accurate schedules which becomes one of the fundamental disconnects between management and engineering. Technologists rely heavily on iteration as a tool for gaining knowledge and combined with other risks, technology development may appear "out of control". To mitigate these risks, technologists have developed a variety of approaches including: building a series of prototypes of increasing fidelity and using them as a form of communication, simultaneously developing multiple technologies as a hedge against failure or predicting and developing technologies they think will be needed outside of formal channels. Finally, I use my model to provide some insights as to how management can understand technology development projects. This gives technologists and non-technical managers a common ground for communication.
by W. Andrew Oswald.
S.M. in Engineering and Management
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Stodter, Anna. "Understanding coaches' learning : process, practice and impact." Thesis, Loughborough University, 2014. https://dspace.lboro.ac.uk/2134/16047.
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Although it seems clear that coaches become effective practitioners through idiosyncratic combinations of learning experiences (Werthner & Trudel, 2009), little is known about how and why this occurs and impacts on coaching knowledge and practice (Cushion et al., 2010). This research sought to understand the processes and impact of coaches learning in the context of UK youth football coaching, specifically centring on a formal education course. The research process utilised a pragmatic and integrated perspective, influenced by impact evaluation frameworks (e.g. Coldwell & Simkins, 2011). A group of 25 coaches were investigated at different points over a period of a year and a half, using a mixture of semi-structured interviews, systematic observations, video-based stimulated recall interviews and course observations, to build up increasingly in-depth levels of data. Using the principles of grounded theory methodology (Strauss & Corbin, 1998) as well as mixed analyses of variance (ANOVA), changes in the knowledge use and practice behaviours of course candidates, and equivalent coaches not undertaking formal education, were compared. The course had subtle impacts on coaches knowledge conceptions in interaction with wider knowledge sources, yet impact on practice was generally demonstrated only in the areas of questioning content and individually directed coaching interventions. Mismatches between the espoused theory of the course and what the candidates actually perceived, as well as a lack of individualised support to overcome disjuncture (Jarvis, 2006) created barriers to learning, preventing integration of theoretical conceptions into altered coaching practice. A substantive grounded theory was generated to explain the underpinning double-loop cognitive filter and reflective feedback processes involved in coaches learning. The model demonstrated that practitioners learning, guided by existing biography and driven by a practical focus on what works , was heavily influenced by context. Meaningful learning connected knowledge with implementation in practice through reflection. These processes help explain uneven learning across individuals; addressing for the first time questions of what works , how , 'why', and for whom in coach learning (McCullick et al., 2009). Thus the results generate an understanding of coaches learning which can be practically relevant in fostering better opportunities to enhance the development of capable and creative coaches.
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Doritou, Maria. "Understanding the number line : conception and practice." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2006. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/2622/.
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This study investigates the relationship between teacher’s presentation and children’s understanding of the number line within an English primary school that follows the curricular guidance presented within the National Numeracy Strategy (DfEE, 1999a). Following an exploratory study, which guided the development of a questionnaire, the preparation of a pilot study, and the initial investigation with the trainee teachers, the study was re-conceptualised to consider the way in which teachers within each year group of a primary school used the number line and the ways in which their children conceptualized and interpreted it. Using a mixed methodology, the theoretical framework of the study draws upon methods associated with case study, action research and ethnography and involved the use of questionnaires, teacher observations and interviews with selected children. Analysis of the questionnaire data is mainly through the use of descriptive statistics that lead to discussion on children’s embodiments of the number line, their interpretations of what it is and their accuracy in estimating magnitudes. The results of the study suggest that conceptualising the number line as a continuous rather than discrete representation of the number system that evolves for the notion of a repeated unit was less important than carrying out actions on the number line. It is suggested that this emphasis caused ambiguity in the way teachers referred to the number line and restricted understanding amongst the children that focused upon the ordering of numbers and the actions that could be associated with this ordering. The results also suggest that children’s conceptions of magnitude on a segmented 0 to 100 number line neither meet objectives specified within the National Numeracy Strategy nor confirm hypothesised models that suggest a linear or logarithmic pattern of accuracy. The number line is seen to be a tool but its use as a tool becomes limited because teachers, and consequently children, display little if any awareness of its underlying structure and its strength as a representation of the number system.
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Hammersley, John. "Dialogue as practice and understanding in contemporary art." Thesis, Cardiff Metropolitan University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10369/8076.
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This study investigates how social constructionist dialogue as art demonstrates a layered mode of practical inquiry, which weaves together interactive and explorative, re-presentational and reflective modes of dialogue in the performance of knowledge. Recent art debates present dialogue as a relational, collaborative and situated mode of meaning-making, and an alternative to traditional constraining frameworks of art. However, artists have been criticised for idealised interpretations of dialogue, which present it as something essentially good and democratic, for insufficiently scrutinising dialogical relationships, and for not providing adequate process accounts for secondary audiences. This study’s multi-layered performance of knowledge draws on thematic insights developed through fourteen interviews and five field conversation artworks from 2008 onwards. Research material from conversational encounters was combined and presented as three constructed written dialogues, which reflect the tensions and questions that emerge out of enacting such a layered mode of dialogue as art. These tensions are re-presented, and discussed in three central thematic chapters, which frame these themes as issues of context, competing characteristics of meaningmaking and relating. The constructed written dialogues provide a platform for further discussion and reflective analysis, which in turn are proposed as an invitation to continued dialogue and socially grounded interaction. The central implication of this study’s contribution to knowledge is that such an approach to practice-led inquiry articulates how dialogue may contribute to the increasing shift in critical art practices towards to more imbricated, uncertain, and performative approaches to knowledge, and provide an alternative to essentialised and foundationalist interpretations of dialogue.
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SOUSA, LEONARDO DA SILVA. "UNDERSTANDING HOW DEVELOPERS IDENTIFY DESIGN PROBLEMS IN PRACTICE." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2018. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=35860@1.
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PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIROCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DO PESSOAL DE ENSINO SUPERIOR
CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO
PROGRAMA DE EXCELENCIA ACADEMICA
PROGRAMA DE DOUTORADO SANDUÍCHE NO EXTERIOR
Um problema de projeto é a manifestação de uma ou mais decisões de projeto inadequadas que afetam negativamente requisitos não funcionais. Por exemplo, Fat Interface, um problema que indica quando uma interface expõe serviços não coesos, no qual dificulta a extensibilidade e a manutenibilidade de um sistema de software. Apesar de problemas de projeto serem prejudiciais aos sistemas, identificá-los é uma tarefa difícil, especialmente quando o código-fonte é o único artefato disponível. Embora pesquisadores venham investigando técnicas para ajudar os desenvolvedores a identificar problemas de projeto, há pouco conhecimento sobre o processo de identificar problemas de projeto. Por exemplo, anomalias de códigos, um indicador de problemas de projeto, têm sido usadas para ajudar desenvolvedores a identificar problemas de projeto. No entanto, ainda não sabemos se elas são suficientes para ajudá-los ou não. Em particular, nenhum estudo tentou entender como os desenvolvedores identificam problemas de projeto. Nesse contexto, nós realizamos alguns estudos para entender a identificação de problemas de projeto. Em nossos dois primeiros estudos, nós investigamos o papel que as anomalias de código desempenham durante a identificação de problemas de design. Nossos resultados indicam que as anomalias de código são relevantes para os desenvolvedores na prática, por exemplo, eles são relevantes para indicar elementos a serem refatorados. Apesar da relevância, descobrimos que as anomalias de código não são suficientes para ajudar os desenvolvedores a identificar problemas de projeto. Nesse sentido, conduzimos outro estudo para investigar quais outros indicadores os desenvolvedores usam na prática e como eles são usados. Este estudo resultou em uma teoria sobre como os desenvolvedores identificam problemas de projeto na prática. A teoria revela quais são os indicadores que os desenvolvedores usam, como eles usam esses indicadores e as características de tais indicadores que os desenvolvedores consideram úteis. Os resultados encontrados nos forneceram uma melhor compreensão do processo de identificação de problemas de projeto, abrindo caminho para a elaboração de técnicas mais eficazes em ajudar os desenvolvedores a identificar problemas de projeto.
A design problem is the manifestation of one or more inappropriate design decisions that negatively impact non-functional requirements. For example, the Fat Interface, a problem that indicates when an interface exposes non-cohesive services, hampers the extensibility and maintainability of a software system. Despite its harmfulness, identifying a design problem in a system is difficult, especially when the source code is the only available artifact. Although researchers have been investigating techniques to help developers in identifying design problems, there is little or no knowledge about the process of identifying design problems. For instance, code smells, microstructures that are a surface indication of design problems, have been used in several techniques to support developers during the design problem identification. However, there is no knowledge if code smells suffice to help developers to identify design problems. In particular, no study has tried to understand how developers identify design problems in practice. Thus, in this thesis, we have conducted a series of studies to understand design problem identification. In our two first studies, we investigated the role that code smells play in supporting developers during the design problem identification. Our results indicate that code smells are relevant for developers in practice; for instance, they are relevant to indicate elements that need to be refactored. However, we found that code smells, despite their relevance, do not suffice in helping developers to identify design problems. In this vein, we conducted another study to investigate what indicators developers use in practice, and how they use them. This study resulted in a theory about how developers identify design problems in practice. For instance, the theory reveals the indicators that developers use, how they use these indicators, and the characteristics of such indicators that are perceived as helpful by developers. The results found by our studies provided us with a better understanding of the process of identifying design problems thitherto nonexistent. Moreover, our findings pave the way for the elaboration of more effective techniques to identify design problems in the source code.
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Kravcenko, Dmitrijs. "Towards a practice-based understanding of organizational memory." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2016. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/98026/.
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This thesis puts forward a problematization of key assumptions within the field of organizational memory and develops a phenomenology-infused theory of organizational memory as a practice. The aim of the research is to depart from existing theoretical preconceptions of organizational memory in order to observe what organizational memory means, and looks like, to practitioners as they engage with it in their daily practice. Data collected during a 15-month long ethnography of architectural work is used to call into question an existing, broadly anthropocentric, understanding of organizational memory in favour of one where organizational memory is seen as distinct from practice memory (following Schatzki, 2006) and proceeds as an emergent, episodic accomplishment bound by local material arrangements and dynamics of organizational power. A new theoretical framework for classifying the literature is proposed alongside an emergence/submergence model of organizational memory as a practice (for illustrative purposes), implications for industry and further research, and a methodological approach to the study of such temporally-sensitive phenomena.
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Davis, Pauline Suzanne. "Understanding children's perspectives of reading: implications for practice." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.488452.
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There is concern about underachievement in reading in Britain. The aim of this inquiry is to find insights into school life that can be used to develop thinking about practice relating to children who experience reading difficulties in mainstream primary schools. This inquiry investigates seven and eight year old children's perceptions of reading in case studies of three primary schools. The intake of two schools was predominantly, white British and working class; the intake of the third school was also white British but the children's parents were in clerical, semi-professional or professional employment. The research employs five methods for data collection: classroom observation, reading tests, structured/semi -structured interviews, story telling interviews and 'incidental data collection'. The power difference between adults and children, along with children's usually more limited linguistic repertoire, means that adhering to effective interviewing practice is especially important when interviewing children. The development of an interview procedure for use with primary school children based on children telling a story is reported. It is argued that the story-telling interview can be used beneficially with children who are poor readers. Children's perspectives of reading were found to be wide ranging. Factors that influenced their views were gender, the learning environment at home, self-image, the quality of the reading materials and the trust afforded children in their reading at school. Boys were found to be disadvantaged in reading development by constructions of masculinity that view reading as a feminine activity. Furthermore, a boy's self-identification as a non-reader or as a person who rarely reads voluntarily sometimes occurs at a younger age than has generally been reported. This is linked with social economic status and sociocultural influences. The concept of children's collective agency was introduced in relation to the shaping of school processes and practice. It is suggested that in certain circumstances, connected with social background, the characteristics of the group of children in a classroom can shape classroom practices and whole school practices.
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Perrie, David. "Understanding corporate social investment practice in South Africa." Master's thesis, Faculty of Commerce, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/32917.
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In this study, the researcher employed an inductive qualitative approach to explore the rationale and dimensions of corporate social investment (CSI) practice in South Africa. While the globalised CSI literature is robust, the South African literature is fragmented and insufficient, despite the growing social need for this type of funding in the context of South Africa. Thus, with this paper, the researcher fills this research gap by providing an exploratory analysis of the structure and evolution of CSI practice in South Africa. The motivation behind this research is to use the research to optimise the social impact that CSI participation can provide, as well as integrating corporate funding into the broader approach of addressing the country's poor socioeconomic conditions. In the study, the researcher covered a sample of 15 CSI professions operating in positions in either large South African corporations or established NGOs, with an average CSI experience of 13 years. The results of the inductive qualitative analysis show that the CSI functions operated using a traditional corporate function structure. The history and rationale of CSI practice have been key elements in defining current CSI practice. Initially, governmental regulation resulted in adherence strategies. However, growing social considerations have shifted CSI policy from adherence to impact. This has driven the growing sophistication in CSI practice in the country. The researcher breaks down this evolution and discusses the key strengths and weaknesses of each element to provide sufficient detail to the function. The findings are used to derive recommendations for CSI best practice. Internal commitment, sustainability, process management and key stakeholder relationships are prioritised in these recommendations. The exploratory findings provide a baseline in accordance with which more statistically robust or comprehensive research methods can be used to assess the identified elements of CSI more thoroughly and in more depth. The research provides a generalised benchmark for corporations to assess their CSI practice against an established peer group, while providing ideas about improving their CSI practice going forward.
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Jõks, Eerik. "Contemporary understanding of Gregorian chant : conceptualisation and practice." Thesis, University of York, 2009. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/949/.
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This dissertation seeks to address the question of how contemporary performers and experts understand the medieval repertoire known to us as Gregorian chant. This medieval repertoire (also known as Franco-Roman) is understood here to be abstract musical and non-musical information in medieval manuscripts. It differs from classical western music repertoires by a lack of adequate original performance instructions. It becomes audible through performerâs realisation of his or her personal conceptualisation. This study observes both conceptualisation and practice of the repertoire through the answers of 127 respondents to an online sociological questionnaire and 35 solo recordings of the Gradual Haec dies. The study also involves a heuristic experiment to find connections between conceptualisation and practice. This research is multidisciplinary, combining sociology and musical acoustics. The sociological approach includes quantitative statistical and qualitative methods. Ideas of musical acoustics are applied to measure digitally the temporal structure of solo recordings of Gregorian chant. The analysis of the results of the questionnaire showed that there are certain patterns in evaluating what Gregorian chant is and what is important for a good performance of that repertoire. There was more similarity in understanding what the repertoire is than what the interpretational preferences are. Measuring the solo recordings showed that although there is a large variety in temporal understandings of the performed music, most performers tend to perceive performed music in one durational category. For those who have two basic durational categories it seems to be a result of agogical preferences rather than perception of two durational categories. The comparison of conceptualisation and practice showed that the strongest link between these two is in agogical variety. It was not possible to find similarly significant connections between conceptualisation and other features of practice â tempo values and the number of basic note values. This research project has demonstrated that a multidisciplinary approach to Gregorian chant can reveal new aspects in the study of the repertoire in terms of approach and understanding.
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Kubiak, Christopher David. "Understanding support worker learning : practice, participation and identity." Thesis, Open University, 2012. http://oro.open.ac.uk/54691/.
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A better understanding of support worker learning is needed. Role extension, an increasing awareness of the sophistication of caring practice and the need to develop the esteem of the sector have all made the professional development of support workers a priority for the health and social care sector. Drawing on situated and sociocultural leaming theories, this research investigated the way in which workplace participatory opportunities, affordances and individual identification shape support worker learning. Ethnographic and grounded theory methods were used. Fourteen support workers from both health and social care participated in repeated interviews over a number of months. Seven were observed in practice. Workplace manager's were also interviewed. It was found that participants established a sense of value and esteem by emphasising the significance of their work. They considered their capability as resting upon three foundations - practical experience, natural ability and knowledge of the service user. Thee domains of practice were described - development and well being-focused activities, relationship work and building an understanding of service users. Practice was a subjective and situational reconstruction. Practice-based learning was a multimodal process arising out of workplace participatory opportunities. These participatory opportunities interact to structure, support or provoke learning activities.
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Checkland, Katherine Harriet. "Understanding general practice : an exploration of bureaucratic initiatives in general practices in the UK." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2005. http://www.manchester.ac.uk/escholar/uk-ac-man-scw:67596.
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It is the argument of this thesis that there has been a move in the UK away from a model of medical practice based upon individual clinical experience towards one based upon the distillation of scientific evidence into bureaucratic guidelines that practitioners are expected to follow (scientific-bureaucratic medicine). National Service Frameworks and the quality framework of the new General Medical Services Contract introduced in general practice in the UK in 2004 are both exemplars of this, and this study set out to investigate the impact of these changes in general practices. The literature relating to the implementation of changes such as these suggests that the success or failure of implementation depends to a large extent upon the context involved, and this study was designed to investigate in detail the context that is UK general practice. A decision was made to take a theoretical view of general practices as small organisations, and the organisational studies literature was used to derive a theoretical framework to underpin the work. This framework uses the work of Weick, Vickers, Katz and Kahn and Checkland to understand the nature of organisations, taking a view that activity within organisations emerges from the (often unconscious) "sensemaking" undertaken by the organisation members. Using this theoretical framework, an iterative programme of qualitative case study research was undertaken, revisiting and elaborating upon the theoretical framework in the light of the results from each case. Data was collected by observation as well as at interview, and focused upon the roles that were occupied by the practice members, the nature of their decision making processes and their reactions (both practical and theoretical) to the initiatives being studied. The cases were analysed thematically, guided by the theoretical framework. These case studies demonstrated that the ideal of rationality that underpins the move towards scientific bureaucratic medicine is not one that has resonance for these practices. Behaviour in response to the initiatives studied could be best understood in terms of the collective sensemaking of those involved. The factors underpinning this sensemaking in the practices studied were explored, and out of this a conceptual model of the processes that take place within general practices in response to external change was developed. In addition, it was found that rather than responding as professionals whose autonomy was threatened by these "top down" initiatives, participants' behaviour could be more clearly understood as the response of "workers" who are seeking to make sense of their working lives. Finally, these detailed case studies demonstrated that the idea that general practitioners, as independent contractors to the NHS, hold all the power in their practices is not sustainable in all cases. These findings suggest that the implementation of change in general practice will only be successful if those seeking to bring about this change are aware of and take into account the micro-context involved. If this is the case, then not only should local implementation teams be prepared to work with practices in ways that are congruent with their internal realities, but also those making national policy should be aware that top-down initiatives will be interpreted by those on the ground in the light of these internal realities and as a result it is unlikely that "rational" implementation will occur.
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Mays, Lydia Criss. "Linking Theory to Practice: Understanding How Two Reading Recovery Teachers' Reflections Inform their Teaching Practices." unrestricted, 2009. http://etd.gsu.edu/theses/available/etd-07072009-162305/.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Georgia State University, 2009.Title from file title page. Diane Truscott, committee chair; Joyce Many, Barbara Meyers, Ramona Matthews, Floretta Reid-Thornton, committee members. Description based on contents viewed Oct. 19, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (p. 155-174).
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Tønnensen, Christian. "Ethicising : towards an understanding of ethics as material practice." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2008. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.530080.
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Beynon-Jones, Siân M. "Expertise and Scottish abortion practice : understanding healthcare professionals' accounts." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/4514.
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Current UK abortion law has been subjected to extensive feminist critique because of the relationships that it constructs between healthcare professionals (HCPs) and women with unwanted pregnancies. The law allows HCPs to opt out of abortion provision on the grounds of conscience, implying that it is not something which they have an automatic duty to provide to their patients. It also gives doctors the authority to decide whether an abortion can legally take place, thus suggesting that women’s reproductive decisions should be regulated by medical ‘experts’. However, little is known about how HCPs who are involved in twenty-first century UK abortion provision define their relationships with their patients in practice. My thesis makes an important empirical contribution by responding to this gap in the literature and exploring the subjectivities which these HCPs construct for themselves and their pregnant patients. I address this issue by analysing Scottish HCPs’ interview accounts of their involvement in (or conscientious objection to) abortion provision, using conceptual tools provided by Science and Technology Studies (STS) and feminist theory. I begin by utilising HCPs’ discussions of the practice of ‘conscientious objection’ as a means of exploring how they define the boundaries of their professional responsibilities for abortion provision. I then move on to address HCPs’ accounts of their interactions with women requesting abortion, and analyse how they define legitimate or ‘expert’ knowledge in this context. A key conclusion of the thesis is that HCPs do concede some authority to women with unwanted pregnancies; this is revealed by their reluctance to suggest that they have the right to prevent individual women from accessing abortion. At the same time, I argue that the legitimacy granted to pregnant women by HCPs is limited. My analysis reveals that, in constructing knowledge claims about the use of abortion, HCPs co-produce troubling definitions of femininity, socio-economic class, age and ethnicity. I develop a strong critique of this process, and highlight its potential implications for women’s experiences in the abortion clinic. However, I conclude that this situation cannot be addressed by simply attacking the practices of HCPs as individuals. Rather, it is necessary to understand and critique the limitations of the discursive context in which HCPs are working, because this context shapes the subjectivities available to pregnant women and HCPs.
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Ward, Sophie Claire. "Understanding creative partnerships : an examination of policy and practice." Thesis, Durham University, 2010. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/525/.
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Creative Partnerships was launched in 2002 as an arts-based education programme that aimed to transform the aspirations of young people living in socially and economically deprived areas of England. The organisation was established in response to the National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education (NACCCE, 1999), which offered an account of creativity as a means to foster individual self-reliance and social unity. This thesis explores how the NACCCE’s construction of creativity enabled New Labour to appear to endorse the value of the arts in education whilst promoting the model of the self as an autonomous economic unit, and considers how Creative Partnerships was paradoxically welcomed by supporters of the arts in education who were displeased with the instrumentalism at work in much of New Labour’s education policy. The aim of this thesis is to understand Creative Partnerships by examining the discourse that constitutes the programme, and by offering an empirical enquiry into a project that took place within a secondary school in the north of England. In so doing, this thesis critically evaluates the political motivation for the use of arts-based education as a means to develop self-reliance, and considers how successive governments have imported the free market economic model into education to promote efficiency, and the role that Creative Partnerships might be said to play in the maximisation of the total social system. Finally, this thesis considers the current limitations of Creative Partnerships, and how arts-based education might be used to develop social cohesion.
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Nicolaisen, Lelani. "Immersed in paint : Understanding painting installations through art practice." Mini-Dissertation, University of Pretoria, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/65593.
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Davids, Nawaal. "Understanding facilitator practice in the problem-based learning classroom." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6871.
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This study looks at eight individual PBL facilitator cases in the field of medical education at the University of Cape Town (UCT). The aim of this study is to gain an understanding of what affects facilitation practice in a problem-based leaning (PBL) classroom. The facilitators come from various backgrounds and have different levels of knowledge and experience. They are, however all employed in a course on a part-time basis during the second semester of the MBChB first year programme. Each facilitator was observed during their facilitation of a PBL tutorial and thereafter they were interviewed about their actions in the classroom. Bourdieu's theory of practice was used as the theoretical and descriptive framework in this study of educational practice in PBL. Bourdieu speaks of 'habitus' or the 'dispositions' of facilitators that influences their practice. He describes the 'field' as the specific area where interactions occur that are shaped by the habitus of its participants and in turn shapes their habitus. He also describes 'capital' or assets that the facilitators may possess from their previous or current fields that shape the interactions in a field. This theory offers insight about who the facilitators are, how they behave in the teaching practice setting and provides an understanding of what contributes to their practice in PBL. The findings are that facilitator actions in the classroom were shaped by a number of factors including their personalities, social backgrounds, qualifications, experience, beliefs and perspectives, their fields of practice as well as the medical education field at UCT with its institutional factors and values. Theory of practice not only illustrates the principles underlying facilitator practice in the PBL classroom, but allows a description of the interactions between unique facilitator dispositions, experiences, assets and values within a field of medical education. This study forms the basis for future studies in the area of PBL facilitator practice and will contribute to improved staff development, placement and appreciation of PBL facilitators.
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Neim, Sandra. "Understanding disease through a post-modern art practice, a collaboration of artistic and educational practice." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2000. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape3/PQDD_0019/MQ54343.pdf.
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Medeiros, Jason W. "Enhancing Culturally Responsive Practice in a District: Understanding Culturally Responsive Practice Through Supervision & Evaluation." Thesis, Boston College, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:108779.
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Thesis advisor: Martin ScanlanThis qualitative case study of a medium-sized Massachusetts school district was part of a larger study exploring how educators throughout a school district make sense of and enact culturally responsive practice (CRP). This individual study focused on how school leaders and teachers incorporated their understanding of CRP into the supervision and evaluation process. Despite a growing body of literature on the effectiveness of educator evaluation standards on teacher practice, there is little on how these tools increase teachers’ capacity to support the learning of historically marginalized students. Specifically, this research asks two questions: (1) How do teachers and school leaders understand CRP? (2) How does the supervision and evaluation process contribute to a shared understanding of CRP for teachers and school leaders? Data were collected from 22 semi-structured interviews of school leaders and teachers, document review, and an online survey. Incorporating a cognitive framework for policy implementation, findings revealed that school leaders and teachers understand CRP through their own identities and life experiences and through their interpretation of the district’s professional environment. Findings further noted that the lack of a shared definition of CRP in the district contributed to inconsistent application and prioritization of CRP in the supervision and evaluation process. Without a shared understanding, educators often pivoted to other district initiatives to describe CRP. Implications include the need to establish a system of reflection and practice for educators to explore the beliefs they hold about historically marginalized students and how those beliefs inform practice
Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2020
Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education
Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education
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Calhoun, McKenzie L. "Understanding Non-Adherence." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2018. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/6882.
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Xolocotzin, Eligio Ulises. "Emotion understanding during computer-supported collaboration." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2010. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/11647/.
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Affect has been neglected in computer-supported collaborative learning, which is unfortunate because emotions play important roles in collaborative learning and human-computer interaction. This thesis investigated affect in co-located and remote remote-synchronous collaboration, answering the question: How does the task environment and interaction with a partner influence people’s emotions during computer-supported collaboration? In Study 1, the collaborative tasks and affective features of a game provoked more goal-oriented emotions (e.g., challenge) than an open task in a concept-mapping tool. In both environments individuals assumed emotional similarity with a partner, which not necessarily was true. Some partners that reported similar emotions also interacted positively (e.g., with responsiveness and coordination). Study 2 investigated the dynamics of challenge around a collaborative game. Challenge was likely to change when the task environment included features like complexity or required coordination. Challenge increased if partners struggled, and decreased if they performed fluently. Moreover, partners influenced each other’s actions in these situations. Probably this explained the similarity between partners’ reported challenge and their tendency to assume such similarity when reasoning about the emotions of each other. In any case, partners rarely discussed emotions during their collaborative interaction. Thus, Study 3 assessed the benefits of supporting affective awareness between partners during remote and co-located collaborations. Affective awareness facilitated enjoyable and productive interactions only during co-located collaborations, suggesting the remoteness highlighted the importance of an accurate understanding of a partner’s emotions, precipitating a more effective response to the demands of the task environment. The research shows that partners’ emotions are under the influence of one another’s actions, especially when the task environment requires them to solve collaborative tasks playing complementary roles. Moreover, collaborators assume emotional similarity with the partners. Thus, the process and outcome of collaboration might improve if the environment helps partners to have a better understanding of one another’s emotions.
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Yee, Joyce. "Developing a practice-led framework to promote the practise and understanding of typography across different media." Thesis, Northumbria University, 2006. http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/1122/.
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This study presents a pedagogic framework that offers a new approach, structure and content for the teaching, understanding and application of typography in cross-media communication environments. Current theory and vocabulary used to describe typographic practice and scholarship are based on a historically print-derived framework. As yet, no new paradigm has emerged to address the divergent path that screen-based typography has taken from its traditional print medium. This study argues that the current model of typographic education is unable to provide design students with appropriate models, concepts and grammar to explore the potential of typography in screen-based media. Hence, a re-evaluation of the current framework is proposed in order to develop new approaches that will reduce misappropriation of typographic principles and aesthetic values in screen-based media. This study is composed of three research stages. Stage One (consisting of a literature and design application review) was used to develop an understanding of the current typographic application in screen-based media. Stage Two (consisting of a questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews) was used to investigate the relevance of current typographic knowledge in relation to screen- based media. Additionally, this stage helped identify critical issues surrounding current and future typographic practice. Findings from Stages One and Two were used as a basis to develop a new framework. This framework was subsequently tested and refined in Stage Three through action research projects (with Graphic and New Media design students) and peer reviews (with design educators and professional practitioners). The final framework consists of six key attributes: an integrated model of knowledge, cross-media skills, cross-disciplinary influences, it is communication-focused, flexible and adaptable. It reflects a future model of a convergent media, not a continued separation of print and screen. This framework consists of two distinct areas of knowledge: Global Skills (Form, Content, Expression and Context) and Specialist Skills (Hyper-textuality, Interactivity, Temporality and Usability). It is concluded that the approach and knowledge-base used to teach typography must be modified to reflect the challenges posed by media convergence, where transferable global skills are emphasised across a range of media. Typography's knowledge base has to be expanded to include specialist skills derived from technological and social changes in communication technologies. The principal contributions of the study are: the identification of transferable global typographic skills; the introduction of specialist design skills required for effective cross-media type application; presentation of an integrated model of typographic knowledge and practice; a curriculum guide aimed at helping design educators plan and deliver typography in graphic and multimedia programmes; strategies and approaches to help designers remediate their print- derived knowledge and lastly, as a subject reference guide for visual communication design students. The framework is not offered as an absolute representation of western-based typographic knowledge for cross-media application but instead should be considered as a signpost to help understand the current transition of knowledge between print and screen. Additionally, this framework has been developed and tested within a single educational environment. As a result, variations in teaching and learning styles were not taken into account. Audiences are urged to treat the framework as a 'work-in-progress' model that can be refined through additional field- testing in other educational environments. And finally, the application of the framework within a professional practice environment would require a comprehensive review of practice-based concerns and a further simplification of the framework.
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Landry, Brian Michael. "Storytelling for digital photographs supporting the practice, understanding the benefit /." Diss., Atlanta, Ga. : Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/31805.
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Thesis (Ph.D)--Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010.Committee Chair: Guzdial, Mark; Committee Member: Abowd, Gregory; Committee Member: Mynatt, Elizabeth; Committee Member: Smith, Michael; Committee Member: Thomas, John. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.
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CERDERA, CRISTIANE PEREIRA. "THE NOTION OF UNDERSTANDING IN EXPLORATORY PRACTICE: A WITTGENSTEINIAN REFLECTION." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2009. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=32859@1.
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PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIROCOORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DO PESSOAL DE ENSINO SUPERIOR
PROGRAMA DE SUPORTE À PÓS-GRADUAÇÃO DE INSTS. DE ENSINO
Este trabalho investiga a noção de entendimento em textos seminais da Prática Exploratória. Reconhecendo que se busca renunciar ali a uma visão tradicional de entendimento, sem que, contudo, se elabore uma concepção alternativa capaz de fundamentar teoricamente essa nova abordagem pedagógica, esta pesquisa busca contribuir para a superação de tal lacuna. Parte-se do pressuposto de que há uma substantiva afinidade entre a Prática Exploratória e a filosofia de Ludwig Wittgenstein, filósofo que dedicou particular atenção à noção que se toma aqui como foco de investigação. O objetivo desta pesquisa é, pois, explorar afinidades e discrepâncias que se podem discernir entre o programa da Prática Exploratória e a perspectiva wittgensteiniana de linguagem, tendo como foco o conceito de entendimento. Busca-se, mais especificamente, desenvolver uma reflexão conceitual acerca da noção de entendimento, a partir de uma concepção wittgensteiniana de linguagem. A análise dos textos seminais da Prática Exploratória aqui realizada mostrará que é compatível com os princípios norteadores desse programa uma caracterização wittgensteiniana do entendimento, como conceito que, entre outras coisas, é: (a) invulnerável simultaneamente ao essencialismo e ao ceticismo; (b) apreensível por semelhança de família; (c) visto como condição permanente e não como acontecimento mental; (d) determinado por atuações reguladas e públicas, compartilhadas entre os membros da comunidade exploratória; e (e) tomado como ocasião eventualmente propícia à desnaturalização de práticas culturais arraigadas. Apontam-se, por outro lado, pontos de discrepância entre os discursos exploratório e wittgensteiniano, sobretudo no que tange à questão da autonomia da linguagem em relação ao pensamento.
This thesis investigates the notion of understanding in the seminal texts of Exploratory Practice. Despite its attempts to shift from a traditional view of understanding, Exploratory Practice does not elaborate an alternative concept to ground theoretically this new pedagogical approach. This work attempts to contribute to fill this gap, based on the assumption that there is substantial affinity between Exploratory Practice and the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein, who devoted special attention to the notion under investigation in this thesis. Thus, the objective of this research work is to explore affinities and discrepancies between the Exploratory Practice program and the Wittgensteinian perspective of language, with focus on the concept of understanding. More specifically, it attempts to develop a conceptual reflection on the notion of understanding on the basis of a Wittgensteinian conception of language. The analysis of seminal texts of Exploratory Practice accomplished in this work will demonstrate that the guiding principles of this program are compatible with a Wittgensteinian-oriented characterization of understanding as a concept that, among other factors: (a) is simultaneously invulnerable to essentialism and skepticism; (b) is apprehensible by family resemblance; (c) is taken as an abiding condition and not as a mental occurrence; (d) is determined by regulated and public actions shared by members of the exploratory community; and (e) is considered as an occasion ultimately favorable to denaturalization of well established cultural practices. Furthermore, the analysis points towards discrepancies between exploratory and Wittgensteinian discourses, with specific reference to the issue of autonomy of language in relation to thinking.
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Tellier, Sonia L. "Tracking Turnaround: Understanding Data Use as a Shared Leadership Practice." Thesis, Boston College, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:107991.
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Thesis advisor: Martin ScanlanThis qualitative case study examined leaders’ shared data use, a process of translating data into action (Bernhardt, 2013). Understanding data use is considered conceptually by attending to the assistance relationships shared between central office leaders and principals in the context of turnaround. Such relationships are marked by occasions during which members share expertise by modeling practices; the modeling informs how systems, structures and subsequent practices are introduced and even reinforced for newer members. I focused my analysis on four manifestations of data use: data’s influence on adjusting leadership practice, data’s ability to inform instruction, data use’s benefits from technological advancement, and the intentional promotion of resilience. Data collection included document review as well as interviews with central office leaders and principals. Findings evidenced the nature of both central office leaders’ and principals’ data use as well as revealed a remarkable degree of commonality in the language and practices these leaders shared. The results of this study indicated that assistance relationships are a functioning element of leadership in the turnaround context. This study supported the research that leaders’ shared practice of data use benefits student growth and achievement in line with state-determined assessment and accountability targets. Recommendations include additional research into Lawrence Public Schools’ data use to further inform a blueprint for comprehensive district-wide reform as well as the development of exit criteria from receivership
Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2018
Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education
Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education
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Perfect, James. "Modern magic and magical practice : understanding the modern magical paradigm." Thesis, University of Wales Trinity Saint David, 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.683200.
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Grebe, Julie M. "Parents' Understanding of Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Education." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1999. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc2192/.
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The intent of this study was to determine what understanding and knowledge parents had of developmentally appropriate practice (DAP). The study examined whether the beliefs of parents who enrolled their children in a National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) accredited program had any impact on their expectations for a philosophy and curriculum that is centered around DAP. In addition, the study examined whether parents' understanding of DAP changed when their children transitioned from infant and toddler programs, to preschool. The study group consisted of parents with children in two privately owned NAEYC accredited centers in 1998 (N=131). Results from parent reports indicated a high level of parent knowledge regarding DAP.
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Kashima, Andreas Akwenye. "Teaching for conceptual understanding : an analysis of selected teachers' practice." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1017348.
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The purpose of this study was to explore how teachers’ practice either supports or constrains learners’ conceptual understanding. The study is structured within an interpretive paradigm. The research takes the form of a case study and focused on the teaching practice of two purposefully selected teachers who had been identified as being effective/successful practitioners. The data was collected in two stages. In the first stage, qualitative data was collected by video recording six classroom lessons, three for each of the two participating teachers. In stage 2, participating teachers were individually interviewed. In these interviews the two participating teachers were asked to reflect on their classroom practice, through a process of stimulated recall, where their actions seemed to either support or constrain the development of learners’ conceptual understanding. The study identified a number of elements of the two teachers’ practice that related to the development of learners’ conceptual understanding in the classroom. These include building on learners’ prior knowledge, the use of concrete manipulatives, questioning that promotes critical thinking, and the use of multiple representations and connections. The study also identified elements of the two teachers’ practice that had the potential to constrain the development of learners’ conceptual understanding. These include the lack of opportunities for co-operative or peer-oriented learning, the absence of questioning that leads to discussion, and a scarcity of activities that build mathematical concepts through hands-on engagement. The study highlights the need for supporting teachers and helping them strengthen their practice with regard to those activities that support the development of conceptual understanding in their learners.
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Wong, Shyh-Heng. "Suffering transaction : a process of reflecting and understanding." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/5825.
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This study examines the transaction of the lived experience of ‘suffering’ in the process of psychotherapy. ‘Suffering’ is conceptualised as having its weight and value transacted between a psychotherapist and his or her client. As a psychotherapist from a family with a disabled member, my fieldwork in a hospital with the parents of disabled children was conducted in Taiwan. The development of our therapeutic relationship was discovered as the process of ‘suffering transaction’: the interaction of lived experience of suffering between my clients and myself. Two clients took part in this study in which eight to ten sessions of counselling or psychotherapy were conducted and transcribed as the research data. The data also included my lived experience, which was made explicit in this field work through records of six sessions of therapeutic supervision and my self-reflective therapeutic diary and research journal. Inspired by Gee’s (2000) work on data presentation, my understanding of client’s stories is represented as poetic form. Reflections from the use of reflexivity explore the inter-correlations of ‘suffering’ between us. The theoretical perspective informing the further analysis of this study is hermeneutic phenomenology and social suffering. The socio-cultural embodiments in language are explored as the hermeneutic horizons of the theme of suffering transaction. Politically, the development of ‘early intervention’ in Taiwan creates as ‘unjust’ context for those encountering medical services, and this shared understanding of the medical bureaucracy influenced the psychotherapeutic encounter. The analysis also explores the influence of Confucian approaches to gender difference and family ethics, and Christian religious beliefs, in relation to the self-identification of my clients in suffering for other. These three horizons indicate that searching for the meaning of suffering is an inter-subjective process that entails taking the responsibility for the ‘Other’ as the symbolic socio-cultural body. The thesis concludes with discussion about the ethics of the therapeutic relationship. I argue that in psychotherapy, both therapist and client are engaged in the Levinasian idea of the primordial responsibility ‘for’ the other. In the context of wider debates about psychotherapy as an ethical practice, I argue that a therapist has the pre-moral position of not only witnessing client’s lived experience of suffering but also being witnessed by the client. This study provides an example in which the context of ‘witness’ is inter-subjectively developed in psychotherapy.
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Donald, Elizabeth K. "Mind the gaps! : an advanced practice model for the understanding and development of fine craft practice." Thesis, University of Dundee, 2012. https://discovery.dundee.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/4434eab8-a793-4a76-9fb8-64bacaed0b62.
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The current uncertainty centres around Craft as a discipline as opposed to a set of skills applied to a process for a predefined product. This dichotomy is partly due to the lack of a clear definition of craft practice, its theoretical underpinning, and criteria for the evaluation of the products of practice. It appears that this problem emanates from craft itself which has few, if any, practitioners writing from their perspective of practice. A practitioner herself, with all the tacit knowledge from which craft practice is built, enables the researcher to articulate a particular viewpoint, that of the practitioner‘s. She has used this knowledge in the presentation of this thesis and has conducted the research necessarily informed by her own practice. She has also specifically sought the views of other practitioners in order to maintain the voice of practice within this thesis. The term =Fine Craft practice‘ is used by the Past Present and Future Craft Practice1 project to which the researcher is affiliated. In order to understand what Fine Craft practice is, it is necessary to define within the Project context what is meant by this from the perspective of practice. A working definition of Fine Craft practice was developed and this definition became the tool with which to identify possible historical and contemporary Fine Craft practice and to examine the process of progress within these craft practices in order to develop a model of interrogating progress within one‘s own practice and within that of another. This process verified the definition of Fine Craft Practice. Interviews with a cross-section of contemporary craft practitioners were conducted to enable a critical analysis of their methodological approaches. Analysis of practitioners‘ responses formed the basis of a progress wheel, which was divided into equal quadrants. This progress wheel can, through self-reflection and through interview, identify the process of progress within one‘s own or another practitioner‘s practice, dependant on the balance of segments within the wheel. Fine Craft practice is the goal of dedicated practitioners, and the model developed is the yardstick against which to measure that progress and to identify the gaps in practice, which can be addressed. The relevance and importance of this research to craft practitioners and to education was discussed and further research identified. The House of Falkland in Fife, Scotland, a Grade A listed building, was part of the investigation. The wonderful original Arts and Crafts and Byzantium features were part of the refurbishment in 1890‘s, undertaken by G.W. Schultz, H.W.Lonsdale and others who were significant practitioners of the Arts and Crafts movement. A case study of the Vine Corridor2 within the House of Falkland, gave opportunity to critically analyse historical craft using the Advanced Practice Model which gave insight into the methodological approaches embedded within historical Fine Craft practice and verified the model as a tool for interrogating the practitioner responsible for the craftsmanship.
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O'Hare, Daniel Patrick. "Evidence-based practice : a mixed methods approach to understanding educational psychologists' use of evidence in practice." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2015. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.686817.
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Evidence-based practice is a term that continues to receive a great.deal of attention within the Educational Psychology (EP) profession. Publications within the EP field have suggested that evidence-based practice is unworkable due to its reliance on research evidence and have instead suggested practice, which is based primarily on practitioner experience. This study suggests that EP conceptualisations of evidence-based practice have been too narrow, and adopts a model of evidence-based practice from the field of organisational psychology. This model accepts a wide range of sources of evidence including research findings, practitioner experience and judgement, information from people directly affected by decision and information from the local context. A mixed methods approach is adopted to explore EPs understandings and use of evidence in practice. The study is comprised of three phases: an experiment, an attitude scale, and a focused ethnography with interviews. Findings for this study are mixed primarily at the level of interpretation. Findings suggest that EPs orientation towards evidence-based practice is complex. It is suggested that EPs may currently lack some of the skills to be effective evidencebased practitioners but that a wide range of evidence is already drawn on in daily practice. A major barrier to a more critical understanding and application of evidence-based practice is an underlying assumption that 'evidence' is synonymous with 'research'. An expanded model of evidence-based practice is presented which, it is suggested, will allow for EPs to critically and explicitly engage with many types of evidence within practice. An essential element of evidence-based practice for EPs is their connection and relationship with peers that allows for exposure to challenge, new ideas and ways of thinking.
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Boston, Oliver. "Technical liaisons in engineering design : understanding by modelling." Thesis, University of Bath, 1998. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.266470.
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Monaghan, J. "Adolescents' understanding of limits and infinity." Thesis, University of Warwick, 1986. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/34626/.
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AIM To investigate mathematically able adolescents' conceptions of the basic notions behind the Calculus: infinity (including the infinitely large, the infinitely small and infinite aggregates); limits (of sequences, series and functions); and real numbers. To observe the effect, if any, on these conceptions, of a one year calculus course. EXPERIMENTS Pilot interviews and questionnaires helped identify areas on which to focus the study. A questionnaire was administered to Lower Sixth Form students with 0-level mathematics passes. The questionnaire was administered twice, once in September and again the following May. The A-level mathematicians had received instruction in most of the techniques of the Calculus by May. Interviews, to clarify ambiguities, elicit reasoning behind the responses and probe typicality and atypicality, were conducted in the month following each administration. A second questionnaire, an amended version of the first, was administered to a larger but similar audience. The responses were analysed in the light of hypotheses formulated in the analysis of data from the first 5ample. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Subjects have a concept of infinity. It exists mainly as a process, anything that goes on and on. It may exist as an object, as a large number or the cardinality of a set, but in these forms it is a vague and indeterminate form. The concept of infinity is inherently contradictory and labile. Recurring decimals are perceived as dynamic, not static, entities and are not proper numbers. Similar attitudes exist towards infinitesimals when they are seen to exist. Subjects' conception of the continuum do not conform to classical or nonstandard paradigms. Convergence / divergence properties are generally noted with infinite sequences and functions. With infinite series, however, convergence / divergence properties, when observed, are seen as secondary to the fact that any infinite series goes on indefinitely and is thus similar to any other infinite series. The concept that the hut is the saue type of entitiy as the finite tens is strong in subjects' thoughts. We coin the term generic hiuit for this phenomenon. The generic limit of 0.9, 0.99, is 0.9, not 1. Similarly the reasoning scheme that whatever holds for the finite holds for the infinite has widespread application. We coin the term generic law for this scheme. Many of the phrases used in calculus courses (in particular hut, tends to, approaches and converges) have everyday meanings that conflict with their mathematical definitions. Numeric/geometric, counting/measuring and static/dynamic contextual influences were observed in some areas. The first year of a calculus course has a negligible effect on students conceptions of limits, infinity and real numbers. IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING On introducing limits teachers should encourage full class discussion to ensure that potential cognitive obstacles are brought out into the open. Teachers should take great care that their use of language is understood. A-level courses should devote more of their time to studying the continuum. Nonstandard analysis is an unsuitable tool for introducing elementary calculus.
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Mantzoukas, Stefanos. "Exploring and understanding reflection, knowledge and everyday practice in the medical wards." Thesis, University of Portsmouth, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.247492.
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Stephen, Green. "Understanding design impact : a new framework for understanding the potential of design and enhancing future professional practice." Thesis, Brunel University, 2016. http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/13055.
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Understanding Design Impact: A new framework for understanding the potential of design and enhancing future professional practice. Design is widely recognised as an important driver for economic performance. However, the value of design has proved resistant to quantification despite research attention since the early 1980s. Correlation between design investment and impact has been demonstrated, but not causation. There is considerable interest from policy and professional bodies in what is described here as ‘Design Impact’. Impact can be measured, for example, by return on investment, increases in profitability or cost reductions. However this only crudely captures the economic impact of a design ingredient. Increasingly, social and environmental impacts are also of interest. The design profession sees the potential for better articulation of design impact as a means to increase their influence. The context has been explored through a series of descriptive and prescriptive studies including analysis of 45 DBA Design Effectiveness Award case studies, 304 undergraduate design projects from two institutions over a three year period together with interviews and workshops with senior design professionals and design academics. A new Understanding Design Impact framework is the overall outcome and contribution to knowledge from the work. This bridges between theory and practice and is a powerful basis for placing consideration of design impact at the heart of design activity. A design impact ontology has been developed as a robust foundation to the framework which resolves issues with underlying concepts. An initial version of this ontology is published in The Design Journal and is claimed as a supporting contribution to new knowledge. So too are new ontological classifications of factors which have considerable influence on design impact: Design Influences and Authority and Motivation and Path. These provide fresh perspectives and are worthy of further research consideration. A number of routes are identified for the further development and dissemination of the framework.
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Bean, Mathew. "Understanding fathers' roles : an evidence-based practice guide for family therapists." Manhattan, Kan. : Kansas State University, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/314.
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Nijsse, Jennifer Jean. "Beauty: deepening an understanding of contemporary art, art practice and theory /." Burnaby B.C. : Simon Fraser University, 2005. http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/2100.
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Shaik-Abdullah, Sarimah. "Constructing understanding around text : investigating EFL reading as a social practice." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.559776.
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This thesis describes a study that was carried out in response to the question, "how do I encourage active reading behaviour among a group of less successful L2 readers?" I focus on talk around text as an alternative to the traditional classroom reading practices. I chose action research approach because it provided a context for achieving the following aims: to gain an understanding of the L2 readers' difficulties in constructing understanding; to implement and evaluate talk around text; and to reflect on my own teaching practice with a view to creating opportunities for students' engagement in meaningful reading activities. Throughout the study, I monitored the intervention activities and made amendments for the subsequent cycles by examining the data available from observational field notes, audiorecorded reading activities, student evaluation of the activities (by means of interviews, informal conversations, written comments, questionnaire) and the evaluation meetings with my critical friends. Data analysis showed that the unsuccessful L2 readers were able to solve problems and engage in rich discussions about what they had read when they were provided with the opportunity to talk around text. Further, implementing change meant that I had to examine and overcome the contradictions that existed between my belief about learning and my classroom practice. In this thesis, I discuss my attempts to overcome the contradictions and I critically reflect on the opportunities and challenges associated with my attempt to change. Future research activities should consider issues beyond classroom practice that may inhibit teachers and students from exercising change. Implementing change on classroom practice alone will not be sufficient without considering ways to influence change in the wider educational community.
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Brah, K. K. "Understanding the theory-practice issue for acupuncture education in the UK." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2018. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10050073/.
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The aim of this thesis is to address the overarching research question: ‘What is the relationship between theory and practice and the issue that arises between them for acupuncture education in the UK?’. The issue refers to a lack of means for practitioners to competently deal with situations that arise in practice and, has long been recognised as existing in most forms of professional education. The theoretical framework for this study’s investigation traces the reasons for the issue between theory and practice through discussing the shifts in the education, practice and regulation of acupuncture from China to the UK. The theory-practice debates within professional education are also analysed and, professional judgment is considered as a way to connect theory and practice for acupuncture education in the UK. The investigation of the overarching research question entails a case study formed by two distinct models through which acupuncture is currently taught in the UK: the university and the apprenticeship models. These models are also compared and contrasted in view of achieving the objectives to identify: 1) Which elements of each model’s curriculum and pedagogic approaches work best to facilitate the theory-practice relationship, 2) How students can be equipped to develop their professional knowledge upon becoming practitioners. The university model is represented by teachers and students from two institutions, while the apprenticeship model is represented by the principal of an acupuncture apprenticeship programme and the Barefoot Doctor: an experienced acupuncturist who trained through an apprenticeship. Practitioners of acupuncture are also included. Qualitative data were collected through one-to-one interviews and focus groups. The study reveals that alongside the features that facilitate the theory-practice relationship and the development of professional knowledge, a number of concerns emerge through the organisation and pedagogic approaches that these models adopt, thereby hindering the theory-practice relationship. Recommendations are offered for students, teachers and practitioners to understand the connections between theory and practice, and conduct professional judgment effectively. The limitations and recommendations for areas for further research are also discussed.
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Dodsworth, John Newey. "Citizenship in Quaker schools : a critical analysis of understanding and practice." Thesis, University of Bath, 2006. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.426293.
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Mulcahy, Melissa Anne. "Understanding Perinatal Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): From prevention to clinical practice." Thesis, Curtin University, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/85011.
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This thesis investigated the role of metacognitive beliefs in perinatal obsessive-compulsive disorder (or OCD), including in explaining the onset of OCD in new mothers. It evaluated a novel primary prevention intervention for reducing metacognitive beliefs associated with the onset of OCD symptoms in the postpartum period. Health practitioners’ ability to recognise and respond effectively to perinatal OCD symptoms were also explored, and the thesis made recommendations for clinical education and supervision in perinatal OCD.
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Previte, Josephine. "Understanding everyday internet experiences: Applications to social marketing theory and practice." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2005. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/16136/1/Josephine_Previte_Thesis.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
Recently Alan Andreasen (2003) argued that social marketing is in the 'growth phase' of development following four decades of research and practice. During this same time period, marketing has also witnessed new theoretical ideas and practices that have evolved from the influence of new interactive technologies such as the internet. Only limited scholarly work however has been undertaken to draw these marketing sub-disciplinary areas together. The research undertaken in this thesis bridges this gap and explores the role of the internet as means to further extend social marketing theory and practice. Three research questions informed the study. The first of these questions focused on how internet users describe their experiences of the internet as an everyday technology. The second question investigated the different profiles of internet users' opinions, attitudes and actions, and the third question examined how social marketing can be more responsive to internet user behaviour.
To address these research questions the research design used both qualitative methods of focus groups and in-depth interviews together with Q methodology to quantitatively represent the structure and form of individual users' subjective disposition towards the internet. Although Q methodology is relatively absent from marketing literature, it was a useful method for identifying types of people with similar experiences and views of the advantages and disadvantages of internet interactions and relationships. The research process in the study was operationalised using a three-study design. The first study drew on sixteen interviews and two focus groups with internet users, the second study involved Q sorting with thirty-two internet users, and the third study engaged interviews with twenty social change agents.
This study of internet users is embedded in a particular theoretical and epistemological position. Three issues are relevant. First, a social constructionist epistemology is engaged. This emphasises that technology is a social process, patterned by the condition of its creation and use, and informed by human choices and actions. Second, the research is situated across disciplinary boundaries. Marketing practitioners initially adopted a commercial, albeit simplistic, lens when considering the value of social aspects, such as virtual communities and the social networks of connection that link internet users into longer term relationships and exchanges of knowledge, emotion and shared confidences online. However, the intangible non-material resources shared between customers, organisations and other users online are of import to understanding the value of the internet for social marketing strategy. This required looking beyond the social marketing theory and research, to the literature on the sociology of technology. The third way in which this research is different epistemologically and theoretically is in its interpretive focus. Accordingly, the thesis contributes to the shift in academic focus towards critical marketing, which Hastings and Saren (2003) argue provides a more detailed critique and understanding of social marketing processes and outcomes.
The main contribution of this thesis is the development of a strategy map for online social marketing. The map is derived from findings from the three studies. Study 1 explained that the internet is a social and personal technology which has been incorporated into users' everyday lives and activities. Study 2 identified different profiles of internet user opinions, attitudes and actions and interpreted these as internet user segments described as: the Internet Communitarian, the Information Networker and the Individualised Networker. Study 3 delineated the findings from the downstream users' perspective and presented a strategy map derived from the experiences of upstream internet users. Three principles inform this strategy map. First, social marketers need to adopt customer-centric marketing. Secondly, they should apply an exchange continuum that embraces a relational perspective. Thirdly, social marketers using the internet should plan online strategies that focus on the internet as a recombinant technology that can be "remade" by individual users' needs and desires.
Several identified limitations of the study should be considered when reviewing this study. Firstly, the study's interpretive methodological focus precludes quantification and generalisablity to larger populations. Secondly, sample bias in terms of age and gender demographics was evident. Thirdly, a further limitation of the study is the nature of the technology under investigation in this thesis: the recency, and hence the salience of the findings, are mitigated by the fact that the internet is a dynamic technology. Finally, the generalised rather than particularised perspective on social issues and problems adopted in this study as a means of discussing social marketing, may also be seen as a limitation.
This research is of significance to both an academic and practitioner audience. In terms of scholarly significance, the study is important theoretically and methodologically. Social marketing theory has a well established view of the customer as an operand resource. This thesis is significant as it demonstrates the need to conceptualise customers as more than simply 'targets' of social marketing campaigns. It illustrates how social change customers become operant resources who produce effects, based on their sharing behaviours, and make online contributions to behaviour-change processes that give target audiences (operand resources) a sense that they can enact the behaviour. As well, the evolving customer roles -- user, social actor, co-creator, resource -- theorised from the study findings inform a shifting exchange continuum involving 'transactions' to 'relationships'. Finally, this research is of theoretical significance in elucidating the conceptualisation of the continuous-process perspective which reveals that exchanges are not just the discrete, 'transactional' variety, but rather are long in duration and reflect an ongoing relationship-development process.
Methodologically, the study has also demonstrated the potential value of Q methodology as a means of revealing subjective experiences and perspectives, which are the foundation of social products regularly dealt with by social marketers. For social marketing practitioners the study also demonstrates the need for engaging a more holistic view of the internet and its customers to facilitate social change campaigns. This, however, does not negate the fact that there may be potential challenges and unintended consequences facing social marketers in engaging the internet.
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Previte, Josephine. "Understanding everyday internet experiences: Applications to social marketing theory and practice." Queensland University of Technology, 2005. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16136/.
Full textAbstract:
Recently Alan Andreasen (2003) argued that social marketing is in the 'growth phase' of development following four decades of research and practice. During this same time period, marketing has also witnessed new theoretical ideas and practices that have evolved from the influence of new interactive technologies such as the internet. Only limited scholarly work however has been undertaken to draw these marketing sub-disciplinary areas together. The research undertaken in this thesis bridges this gap and explores the role of the internet as means to further extend social marketing theory and practice. Three research questions informed the study. The first of these questions focused on how internet users describe their experiences of the internet as an everyday technology. The second question investigated the different profiles of internet users' opinions, attitudes and actions, and the third question examined how social marketing can be more responsive to internet user behaviour. To address these research questions the research design used both qualitative methods of focus groups and in-depth interviews together with Q methodology to quantitatively represent the structure and form of individual users' subjective disposition towards the internet. Although Q methodology is relatively absent from marketing literature, it was a useful method for identifying types of people with similar experiences and views of the advantages and disadvantages of internet interactions and relationships. The research process in the study was operationalised using a three-study design. The first study drew on sixteen interviews and two focus groups with internet users, the second study involved Q sorting with thirty-two internet users, and the third study engaged interviews with twenty social change agents. This study of internet users is embedded in a particular theoretical and epistemological position. Three issues are relevant. First, a social constructionist epistemology is engaged. This emphasises that technology is a social process, patterned by the condition of its creation and use, and informed by human choices and actions. Second, the research is situated across disciplinary boundaries. Marketing practitioners initially adopted a commercial, albeit simplistic, lens when considering the value of social aspects, such as virtual communities and the social networks of connection that link internet users into longer term relationships and exchanges of knowledge, emotion and shared confidences online. However, the intangible non-material resources shared between customers, organisations and other users online are of import to understanding the value of the internet for social marketing strategy. This required looking beyond the social marketing theory and research, to the literature on the sociology of technology. The third way in which this research is different epistemologically and theoretically is in its interpretive focus. Accordingly, the thesis contributes to the shift in academic focus towards critical marketing, which Hastings and Saren (2003) argue provides a more detailed critique and understanding of social marketing processes and outcomes. The main contribution of this thesis is the development of a strategy map for online social marketing. The map is derived from findings from the three studies. Study 1 explained that the internet is a social and personal technology which has been incorporated into users' everyday lives and activities. Study 2 identified different profiles of internet user opinions, attitudes and actions and interpreted these as internet user segments described as: the Internet Communitarian, the Information Networker and the Individualised Networker. Study 3 delineated the findings from the downstream users' perspective and presented a strategy map derived from the experiences of upstream internet users. Three principles inform this strategy map. First, social marketers need to adopt customer-centric marketing. Secondly, they should apply an exchange continuum that embraces a relational perspective. Thirdly, social marketers using the internet should plan online strategies that focus on the internet as a recombinant technology that can be "remade" by individual users' needs and desires. Several identified limitations of the study should be considered when reviewing this study. Firstly, the study's interpretive methodological focus precludes quantification and generalisablity to larger populations. Secondly, sample bias in terms of age and gender demographics was evident. Thirdly, a further limitation of the study is the nature of the technology under investigation in this thesis: the recency, and hence the salience of the findings, are mitigated by the fact that the internet is a dynamic technology. Finally, the generalised rather than particularised perspective on social issues and problems adopted in this study as a means of discussing social marketing, may also be seen as a limitation. This research is of significance to both an academic and practitioner audience. In terms of scholarly significance, the study is important theoretically and methodologically. Social marketing theory has a well established view of the customer as an operand resource. This thesis is significant as it demonstrates the need to conceptualise customers as more than simply 'targets' of social marketing campaigns. It illustrates how social change customers become operant resources who produce effects, based on their sharing behaviours, and make online contributions to behaviour-change processes that give target audiences (operand resources) a sense that they can enact the behaviour. As well, the evolving customer roles -- user, social actor, co-creator, resource -- theorised from the study findings inform a shifting exchange continuum involving 'transactions' to 'relationships'. Finally, this research is of theoretical significance in elucidating the conceptualisation of the continuous-process perspective which reveals that exchanges are not just the discrete, 'transactional' variety, but rather are long in duration and reflect an ongoing relationship-development process. Methodologically, the study has also demonstrated the potential value of Q methodology as a means of revealing subjective experiences and perspectives, which are the foundation of social products regularly dealt with by social marketers. For social marketing practitioners the study also demonstrates the need for engaging a more holistic view of the internet and its customers to facilitate social change campaigns. This, however, does not negate the fact that there may be potential challenges and unintended consequences facing social marketers in engaging the internet.
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Hendricks, Kelly Cecile. "Expanding the understanding of positive organisational practices in positively deviant organisations: An online desk research review." University of the Western Cape, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/6941.
Full textAbstract:
Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS)Positive organisational practices are actions performed by employees within the workplace that enhance worker and organisational wellness. In identifying positively deviant organisations, specific positive practices within the organisation were studied as an online desk research. This study is based on a backdrop of a study by Cameron et al. (2011) where the authors theorise about certain positive practices, but do not stipulate actual practices. In understanding what these positive practices look like, the study used the interpretive paradigm. Through qualitative inquiry, thematic analysis was used to expand the understanding of manifest positive practices in organisations. The researcher used two significant ways of gathering the data, both through the internet; looking up "top" and "happiest" companies to work for as well as looking at the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) Network online resources and Michigan Ross School of Business online page. All of the data gathered (150 pieces) was from secondary internet / online sources. The results generated 13 themes, of which five stood out as most salient: social interactions at work, inclusivity of all differences, mindfulness, transparent/open communication and creativity/innovation. The study concludes by identifying similarities between Cameron et al. (2011) and the study results, and proposes a link between 11 of the themes. Furthermore, the results suggest that seven of the study’s practices coincide with one particular practice from Cameron et al. (2011): ‘inspiring’ others in the workplace. The significance of the study includes the expanded understanding of positive organisational (manifest) practices that take place in positively deviant organisations. By comparing and contrasting these practices with the Cameron et al. (2011) positive practices, similarities were found. Recommendations for future research are offered.
2020-08-31
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Edin, Michaela, and Ellen Östberg. "Clarifying product management : A study of the sensemaking outcome in a management practice." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Företagsekonomiska institutionen, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-255727.
Full textAbstract:
Today’s technological development has shed new light upon the management practiceproduct management and it is considered more important than ever to manage products.Moreover, organisations to a growing extent face external bodies that evaluate them andimpose organisational structures that they need to comply with. Product management isnevertheless characterised with ambiguity, broad definitions and various depictions. Ascattered research field together with practitioners struggle to define the area stress the needto clarify product management structuring. This thesis uses a sensemaking perspective and akaleidoscopic approach in order to capture product management structuring in a fragmentedarea. It means that we investigate what the sensemaking outcome of product management isand why organisational members make sense this way. This thesis has found that productmanagement is understood on two main levels and that the practice comprises bothconsistency and inconsistency on an inter-organisational level. Findings suggest that sharedidentity, strong commitment, cues, metaphors and expectations have influenced consistentunderstandings and crystallised the sensemaking outcome. In addition, product governanceinfluences product management and therefore the sensemaking outcome are inconsistent inseveral structuring elements. The thesis concludes that our contemporary productmanagement practice is comprised with general components that can be structured similarlybut also components that require a customised structuring due to the product governance trait.