A whole-school approach to managing bullying behaviour among learners in South African primary schools

Bullying behaviour amongst primary school learners is a serious problem that is escalating every day. Learners who are bullied daily – on school premises as well as to and from school – have trouble in gaining confidence, forming healthy friendships, and concentrating on their education. Bullying behaviour amongst primary school learners has serious physical, psychological, emotional, social, and educational consequences. For this reason, it should not be ignored or regarded as a normal aspect of school life or as part of growing up by primary school management, the Department of Basic Education (DBE), other education agencies, and school communities. Primary school principals, educators, learners, school management team (SMT) members, and learners’ parents have the responsibility to eradicate bullying actions in primary schools. Failure to stop bullying behaviour amongst primary school learners would result in high dropout rates and poor academic performance. This research study proposes a whole-school approach in managing bullying behaviour. This approach involves learners’ parents, educators, school communities, learners, SMTs, school-governing bodies (SGBs), education circuits and districts, as well as educational psychologists in creating a positive school environment that fosters learners’ development. In this thesis, the whole-school approach is identified as the most effective method to be used by primary school authorities to eradicate or manage bullying behaviour amongst primary school learners. In addition, this researcher applies the social learning theory, the socio-ecological theory, symbolic interactionism and Dan Olweus’ theory in order to understand bullying actions between primary school learners. Furthermore, a qualitative method is used because it allows for an in-depth, descriptive, and contextual approach to this topic. In this research, the qualitative method involved an extensive data collection – on many variables – over a period, as the study investigated bulling in its environmental setting from a holistic perspective. The study was based on a phenomenological qualitative research design. The study used the interpretivist paradigm in order to comprehend how individuals in everyday settings construct meanings and explain the events occurring in their world. Population for this study comprised of principals, learners, parents, educators and SMT. Thus, the study participants were purposively selected from the relevant primary schools. Focus group discussions, as well as semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with school principals, educators, learners, learners’ parents and SMTs. The interviews were conducted using an interview schedule and additional probing questions. The participants’ responses were transcribed; and categories, themes and sub-themes were identified. The study’s findings revealed that educators, school principals, and learners’ parents agreed that bullying behaviour amongst primary school learners was a serious problem that should not be shrugged off or overlooked. Instead, it should be addressed, because it has negative effects on both bullying and bullied learners. Individual approaches whereby educators act in isolation to tackle bullying behaviour, have proven short-sighted and ineffectual. For the problem to be effectively addressed, a whole-school approach strategy needs to be applied. A whole-school approach seeks to address school bullying in a collective way. It involves all members of the primary school community, learners, SMTs, educators, non- educators, school governors, and external organisations in preventing or addressing bullying behaviour amongst primary school learners. Hence, it is recommended that primary school educators be empowered through workshops and other forms of training regarding the use of the whole-school approach in managing bullying behaviour amongst primary school learners. All primary school stakeholders need to work together in tackling bullying behaviour. They should consider having a strong partnership with police. Working together, all relevant stakeholders could curb bullying behaviour amongst primary school learners. In addition, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) should provide primary schools with an anti-bullying policy.Educational Management and LeadershipPh. D. (Education

User driven modelling: Visualisation and systematic interaction for end-user programming with tree-based structures

This thesis addresses certain problems encountered by teams of engineers when modelling complex structures and processes subject to cost and other resource constraints. The cost of a structure or process may be ‘read off’ its specifying model, but the language in which the model is expressed (e.g. CAD) and the language in which resources may be modelled (e.g. spreadsheets) are not naturally compatible. This thesis demonstrates that a number of intermediate steps may be introduced which enable both meaningful translation from one conceptual view to another as well as meaningful collaboration between team members. The work adopts a diagrammatic modelling approach as a natural one in an engineering context when seeking to establish a shared understanding of problems.Thus, the research question to be answered in this thesis is: ‘To what extent is it possible to improve user-driven software development through interaction with diagrams and without requiring users to learn particular computer languages?’ The goal of the research is to improve collaborative software development through interaction with diagrams, thereby minimising the need for end-users to code directly. To achieve this aim a combination of the paradigms of End-User Programming, Process and Product Modelling and Decision Support, and Semantic Web are exploited and a methodology of User Driven Modelling and Programming (UDM/P) is developed, implemented, and tested as a means of demonstrating the efficacy of diagrammatic modelling.In greater detail, the research seeks to show that diagrammatic modelling eases problems of maintenance, extensibility, ease of use, and sharing of information. The methodology presented here to achieve this involves a three step translation from a visualised ontology, through a modelling tool, to output to interactive visualisations. An analysis of users groups them into categories of system creator, model builder, and model user. This categorisation corresponds well with the three-step translation process where users develop the ontology, modelling tool, and visualisations for their problem.This research establishes and exemplifies a novel paradigm of collaborative end-user programming by domain experts. The end-user programmers can use a visual interface where the visualisation of the software exactly matches the structure of the software itself, making translation between user and computer, and vice versa, much more direct and practical. The visualisation is based on an ontology that provides a representation of the software as a tree. The solution is based on translation from a source tree to a result tree, and visualisation of both. The result tree shows a structured representation of the model with a full visualisation of all parts that leads to the computed result.In conclusion, it is claimed that this direct representation of the structure enables an understanding of the program as an ontology and model that is then visualised, resulting in a more transparent shared understanding by all users. It is further argued that our diagrammatic modelling paradigm consequently eases problems of maintenance, extensibility, ease of use, and sharing of information. This method is applicable to any problem that lends itself to representation as a tree. This is considered a limitation of the method to be addressed in a future project

‘If I get a job, I will just die here’ : An Ethnographic Public Service Study on Refugee Integration in Norway

In this study, I examine refugee integration efforts in four rural municipalities in Norway. The aim of the study was to understand how these municipalities work with refugee integration. Through ethnographic fieldwork, I followed public service employees and settled refugees in their everyday lives. Refugee integration has been a pressing topic in Norwegian public debate over the past 20 to 30 years, and the state, municipalities, voluntary organisations, and private individuals have persistently tried to solve the problem. Despite service innovation in the work of integrating immigrants and refugees and ongoing discussions regarding what integration should look like and how it should be achieved, no consensus has yet emerged. In other words, refugee integration is a complex social problem for which there does not appear to be a finite answer or solution. In this study, I use theoretical approaches from recent service research to examine the municipalities’ work in implementing the Introduction Act, which was enacted by Norway’s Storting in 2003–2004 and is a comprehensive service offering aimed at newly arrived refugees in need of basic qualifications. The act, operationalised through introductory programmes offered to settled refugees establishes a full-time, year-long programme that aims to help resident refugees in need of basic qualification. To study this work, I use public service logic (PSL) as a theoretical tool, framing the analytical approach with contributions from research on wicked problems and other social science concepts. Wicked problems are characterized by their insolvability, and the services offered with the aim of alleviating such problems are based on an articulation of a problem-solution complex. Such complexes reflect how all problems are defined around a possible solution: the problem and the solution are thus two sides of the same coin. This study examines refugee integration processes in Norwegian municipalities from the viewpoints of both settled refugees and public service employees. In doing so, it seeks to shed light on how refugee integration is conducted and perceived from these different perspectives. Through this study, I argue that municipal work with refugees requires constant adjustment. The nature of this work is captured through the concept of bricolage, where both employees and refugees associated with the services are exposed to persistent internally and externally driven changes that affect the service process – and refugees’ value creation

Software test and evaluation study phase I and II : survey and analysis

Issued as Final report, Project no. G-36-661 (continues G-36-636; includes A-2568

In Search of Synergy for Science: A Collaborative Lesson Plan Assignment for Preservice Elementary School Teachers and Preservice School Librarians

Although professional standards for both school librarians and classroom teachers heavily emphasize collaboration, research suggests that such collaboration remains rare in practice. This is especially true in science, where despite numerous calls in the LIS literature for more frequent and substantive collaboration between school librarians and science teachers, both parties struggle to see connections between their respective curricula. While a number of research studies have investigated the facilitators, process, and outcomes of teacher-librarian collaboration (TLC), including science-focused collaboration, in the context of K-12 schools, comparatively little attention has been paid to how classroom teachers and school librarians are taught about collaboration in their preservice education programs. The mixed methods, iterative, design-based study that is the focus of this dissertation addressed this gap by exploring the impact of a novel collaborative lesson plan project undertaken by students enrolled in an elementary science methods course and students enrolled in a graduate-level school library course. Findings indicate that preservice librarians deepened their understanding of TLC and the instructional role of the school librarian, the purpose and role of resources in the school library program, and the potential for school librarians to collaborate with science teachers. Preservice teacher participants reported high levels of motivation to participate in future TLC partnerships at the end of this project, despite the fact that there was little evidence to suggest deep shifts in these participants’ understanding of TLC and the instructional role of the school librarian over the course of the project. Activity theory provided a framework for identifying and discussing five tensions experienced by participants as their learning was mediated by the classroom and community context, tools, and each other. Project outcomes include a set of design guidelines that can help teacher and school librarian educators implement similar assignments in their own contexts, a synthesized model of the TLC process as experienced by project participants, and a new proposed model of TLC that reflects participants’ understandings of the various forms that TLC might take in practice and the factors that contribute to the overall intensity of collaborative partnerships.Doctor of Philosoph

Inclusive Intelligent Learning Management System Framework - Application of Data Science in Inclusive Education

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Data Science and Advanced Analytics, specialization in Data ScienceBeing a disabled student the author faced higher education with a handicap which as experience studying during COVID 19 confinement periods matched the findings in recent research about the importance of digital accessibility through more e-learning intensive academic experiences. Narrative and systematic literature reviews enabled providing context in World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, legal and standards framework and information technology and communication state-of-the art. Assessing Portuguese higher education institutions’ web sites alerted to the fact that only outlying institutions implemented near perfect, accessibility-wise, websites. Therefore a gap was identified in how accessible the Portuguese higher education websites are, the needs of all students, including those with disabilities, and even the accessibility minimum legal requirements for digital products and the services provided by public or publicly funded organizations. Having identified a problem in society and exploring the scientific base of knowledge for context and state of the art was a first stage in the Design Science Research methodology, to which followed development and validation cycles of an Inclusive Intelligent Learning Management System Framework. The framework blends various Data Science study fields contributions with accessibility guidelines compliant interface design and content upload accessibility compliance assessment. Validation was provided by a focus group whose inputs were considered for the version presented in this dissertation. Not being the purpose of the research to deliver a complete implementation of the framework and lacking consistent data to put all the modules interacting with each other, the most relevant modules were tested with open data as proof of concept. The rigor cycle of DSR started with the inclusion of the previous thesis on Atlântica University Institute Scientific Repository and is to be completed with the publication of this thesis and the already started PhD’s findings in relevant journals and conferences

User driven modelling : visualisation and systematic interaction for end-user programming with tree-based structures

This thesis addresses certain problems encountered by teams of engineers when modelling complex structures and processes subject to cost and other resource constraints. The cost of a structure or process may be ‘read off’ its specifying model, but the language in which the model is expressed (e.g. CAD) and the language in which resources may be modelled (e.g. spreadsheets) are not naturally compatible. This thesis demonstrates that a number of intermediate steps may be introduced which enable both meaningful translation from one conceptual view to another as well as meaningful collaboration between team members. The work adopts a diagrammatic modelling approach as a natural one in an engineering context when seeking to establish a shared understanding of problems. Thus, the research question to be answered in this thesis is: ‘To what extent is it possible to improve user-driven software development through interaction with diagrams and without requiring users to learn particular computer languages?’ The goal of the research is to improve collaborative software development through interaction with diagrams, thereby minimising the need for end-users to code directly. To achieve this aim a combination of the paradigms of End-User Programming, Process and Product Modelling and Decision Support, and Semantic Web are exploited and a methodology of User Driven Modelling and Programming (UDM/P) is developed, implemented, and tested as a means of demonstrating the efficacy of diagrammatic modelling. In greater detail, the research seeks to show that diagrammatic modelling eases problems of maintenance, extensibility, ease of use, and sharing of information. The methodology presented here to achieve this involves a three step translation from a visualised ontology, through a modelling tool, to output to interactive visualisations. An analysis of users groups them into categories of system creator, model builder, and model user. This categorisation corresponds well with the three-step translation process where users develop the ontology, modelling tool, and visualisations for their problem. This research establishes and exemplifies a novel paradigm of collaborative end-user programming by domain experts. The end-user programmers can use a visual interface where the visualisation of the software exactly matches the structure of the software itself, making translation between user and computer, and vice versa, much more direct and practical. The visualisation is based on an ontology that provides a representation of the software as a tree. The solution is based on translation from a source tree to a result tree, and visualisation of both. The result tree shows a structured representation of the model with a full visualisation of all parts that leads to the computed result. In conclusion, it is claimed that this direct representation of the structure enables an understanding of the program as an ontology and model that is then visualised, resulting in a more transparent shared understanding by all users. It is further argued that our diagrammatic modelling paradigm consequently eases problems of maintenance, extensibility, ease of use, and sharing of information. This method is applicable to any problem that lends itself to representation as a tree. This is considered a limitation of the method to be addressed in a future project.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Manufacturing strategy : developments in approach and analysis

For established manufacturing nations, increased competitive pressure has been the way of life since the late 1970s. For the most part however, production decision making in manufacturing industry has not changed to meet these new challenges. It usually takes a subordinate strategic role to the marketing and finance functions with the consequence that it accepts a reactive role in the corporate debate. The outcome is that strategic initiatives and developments are predominantly based on corporate marketing-decisions at the "front end" with manufacturing being forced to react at the "back end" of the debate. Since manufacturing managers come late into these discussions, it is difficult for them to successfully influence corporate decisions. All too often, the result is the formulation and later development of strategies which manufacturing is unable to successfully support. That is not to say that this happens for want of trying - strong is the work ethic in the manufacturing culture. However, if the basic link between the manufacturing processes and infrastructure (ie manufacturing strategy) and the market is not strategically sound, then the business will suffer. There are many reasons why manufacturing is typically reactive in the strategic debate. One important factor is the lack of appropriate concepts and language with which to explain or contribute to corporate decisions. This research has been undertaken to help redress this deficiency. The work began in the early 1980s. Upto that time, both the professional and academic contributions to the field of manufacturing strategy principally concerned statements which highlighted the problem and alerted manufacturing industry as a whole to its size and potential. However, there were in addition some important early pointers as to ways of overcoming the inadequacy of production's contribution to strategy formulation as well as some alternative approaches which firms needed to consider as ways of improving their overall performance. The inability of the production executive to contribute appropriate functional inputs provided the stimulus to undertake this work and to endeavour to build on initial insights as a way of taking forward the subject area of manufacturing strategy. The core of this thesis concerns these developments. Reported here are three contributions to this field of study all of which have been tested in different firms and are increasingly being used by academics, consultants and businesses as a way of helping to gain essential insights into what is a complex problem. The three facets are: • Typically, corporate strategies are composites of functional statements which are inadequately debated one with another in order to understand and test the coherence of the approaches proposed. The result is that the opportunity to fashion corporate strategies supported by all the functions within a business is not adequately pursued. In addition, the necessity to develop corporate strategy in this way and the advantages which ensue have gone unrecognised • The reactive role of manufacturing results in a lack of strategic direction within this function. As a result, typical developments and investments tend to take the form of operational responses undertaken without strategic context. One outcome of the research is a methodology which provides a way in which a business can develop a manufacturing strategy which links manufacturing developments and investments to the needs of its agreed markets. Two applications of this are provided in Chapter 4 • It is most important for an industrial company to recognise that it is attempting to support the inherently changing nature of its markets with manufacturing investments the characteristics of which are fixed in nature and will not change without further investments and developments. Product profiling is a methodology for enabling companies to assess the current level of match between its markets and manufacturing and to recognise the extent to which decisions will effect this in the future. Examples of its application illustrating different sources of mismatch are given in Chapter

Challenges of management performance in managing a professional team: a case of AmaZulu Football Club.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.The face value of owning a professional football club in South Africa reflects a lucrative business. The compounding claim is that the majority of football club owners are either former footballers themselves or philanthropists with a love for the sport. The general observation reveals that club owners in this industry do not employ managers with necessary high education, knowledge and skills to manage the club, unlike in the case of white-collar corporates. The current practice has a negative financial implications for the club performance, survival and growth. The onus for management of professional club is to establish congruency of performance goals and objectives between personnel and overall organisational objectives. The objective of the study is to determine extent of effective and efficient management of the financial functions in the professional club. The study seeks to evaluate whether the AmaZulu Football Club (AFC) performs to the objectives of satisfying supporters and fans, interpreted as customers. The study further attempts to analyse whether learning and development at the club promote employees’ innovation. Lastly, the study seeks to determine whether internal processes assist the AFC to achieve a competitive advantage status. A mixed-method approach has been chosen as the strategy to attend on research objectives. Qualitative data was extracted from twelve members of the management team in the AmaZulu Football Club (AFC), and four executives from corporate sponsors of the AFC were also interviewed. Quantitative data was extracted from three hundred and eighty-five (385) customers or fans of the AFC. The NVIVO software package assists to analyse qualitative data using thematic analysis method. The SPSS software package assist to analyse quantitative data using descriptive statistics. The study findings indicate that the financial function manifests efficiently and effectively managed for future financial viability of the club. However, the study found that management handling of performance and productivity of the club was at an unsatisfactory level. The study further found that the organisation was not innovative enough to be competitive. The internal processes are operating below the competitor’s performance, making the club less competent and productive to meet customers and fans expectations. The implications of an executive sponsor should offer strategic guidance and create conditions that can link the AFC to new markets. The club should create an efficient internal system that can elicit effective productivity from the available resources