Pupils' perceptions of study of Mathematics as a subject for the Senior Certificate examination: two case studies.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.This study was conducted at two Secondary schools in the Pietermaritzburg area which is in the province of Kwazulu - Natal, South Africa. Of the 182 pupils who participated in this investigation, 97 were from a Black High school and 85 from an Indian Secondary school. The aim of this study was to gain insights into pupils; perceptions of Mathematics. The motivation was that such an exploratory investigation could contribute significantly to the understanding of some of the principal underlying factors that have contributed to the current crisis in mathematics education. The knowledge gained could inform future research in Mathematics education and educational strategies aimed at increasing the number of pupils studying Mathematics at matriculation level. Since there exists a significant racial skewing in favour of White, Coloured and Indian pupils in the percentages of matriculants studying Mathematics for the Senior Certificate Examination, the research focused on the perceptions of Black and Indian pupils. The prevention of further disruptions to the studies of matriculants and the need for a manageable sample necessitated the use of two groups of Standard 9 pupils. The study therefore acquired the characteristics of the case study method of investigation. Open - ended questionnaires, interviews and written essays were used for the purposes of data collection. In examining pupils' perceptions, factors such as biographical details, future aspirations, pupils' explanations for studying/ not studying Mathematics, their preference for the subject, pupils' views on whether more pupils should study the subject, as well as the status of the examination subjects, were considered. Findings suggested that all pupils - even those not studying Mathematics - had similar perceptions of the importance Mathematics, although their learning experiences had been significantly different. The curricula experiences of pupils appeared to have been influenced by past apartheid policies. However, the classroom experiences on which pupils' perceptions of Mathematics were based appeared to have been directly responsible for the low numbers of pupils studying Mathematics for examination purposes. Critical theory played an important role in the interpretation of the major findings. These interpretations suggest that the classroom experiences of pupils were crucial in that they influenced pupils' decisions to select or not to select Mathematics as an examination subject. The study concluded with recommendations for classroom practice and research areas in Mathematics education which would improve the existing educational experiences of disadvantaged pupils

Subnational joint cooperation in marine environmental protection: scalar narratives from the Gulf of Thailand

There are several well recognized, if broad, scales of joint cooperation in the protection of the marine environment, ranging from global, to regional and national collaboration. As well as these three scales, joint cooperation may also occur at of a subnational scale (between provinces of two different countries) too. This thesis examines cooperative efforts towards the protection of the marine environment via the United Nations Global Environmental Facility Project entitled “Reversing environmental degradation trends in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand” (UNEP/GEF SCS Project) at the subnational spatial scale with the eastern part of the Gulf of Thailand as the empirical case study. Using the conceptual framework of scale in its spatial and political aspects, the thesis investigates via qualitative fieldwork how different actors such as UNEP, central and provincial governments, and local villagers utilise scale in the process of cooperation on the management of transboundary coastal ecosystems between Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. In particular, the thesis focuses on two aspects of the UNEP/GEF SCS Project, namely, the strengthening of institutional arrangements for the management of natural resources and the marine environment, and enhancement of public awareness of marine conservation and sustainable resource use. The collective responses from UNEP personnel, central and provincial governments, and local villagers are then analysed along with the secondary data from UNEP working documents and academic literature. It is uncovered that the transboundary marine environmental collaboration between Kampot province (Cambodia) and Kien Giang province (Vietnam) enjoyed a fruitful partnership and capitalised on UNEP’s technical expertise to develop a Memorandum of Agreement and a plan of cooperation in fisheries management. On the other hand, transboundary marine environmental collaboration between Koh Kong province (Cambodia) and Trat province (Thailand) was fraught with difficulties as poor bilateral relations and coordination restricted cooperative measures. The key outcomes of the thesis, therefore, formulate new rapprochements of academic knowledge in the relevant fields of environmental politics of scale and joint cooperation in marine environmental protection, and offer potential marine environmental protection policies particularly on the subnational scale

The Meaning of Music-Making for Computer Scientists with a Serious Musing-Making Avocation: A Phenomenological Case Study

This study explores the meaning of music-making in the lives of computer scientists who play classical music as their serious avocation. In particular, it investigates their tendencies and capacities to concurrently engage in two such distinct disciplines on a regular basis, by exploring the cognitive, social, and cultural aspects of their concurrent engagement. While current research literature approaches the affinities between mathematicians/scientists and musicians through the presence of mathematical properties of music and through anecdotal evidence involving known persona and their innovations, this study provides a deeper look at the individuals who combine such worlds, in order to better understand how music-making is situated in their lives. Framing this research as a phenomenological case-study, narratives of seven study participants (and two pilot-study participants) are constructed through open-ended interviews, in which the participants relive their experiences of this phenomenon of embracing the two disciplines within a vocation/avocation framework. Using narrative analysis, and to a limited extent sociolinguistic analysis, the essence of this phenomenon is extracted from their narratives in the form of three major themes: participation in musical groups, sharing of cognitive skills across both disciplines, and tendencies to bring the two disciplines together. Given these themes, this study demonstrates the rich lives of these individuals, their high sense of self, ability to give to society, and their occasional ability to reach creative peaks. This study can motivate educators and educational institutions to encourage and support individuals with interdisciplinary interests, and calls for such individuals not to leave behind their artistic passions despite the role pragmatism plays in their career choices. This study can also help educators better understand individuals who are attracted to or engaged in multiple disciplines, and can complement or reaffirm scientific research on cognitive skills used in the disciplines of music-making and computer-science

The Impact of the Internationalisation of Higher Education on Scientists’ Multimodal Communication: A case study from Catalonia

Les universitats de tot el món són instades a participar en el procés d' ‘internacionalització’ com a distintiu de qualitat i com a reclam per atraure estudiants. Aquest estudi aborda aquesta qüestió des del context de les institucions catalanes d’educació superior, que afronten el dilema de donar suport a la/les llengua/gües local/s i, alhora, abraçar el multilingüisme i, sobretot, l’anglès. L'objectiu principal d'aquest estudi és examinar l'impacte de la internacionalització de l'educació superior en la comunicació diària dels científics. Les dades etnogràfiques s’han recopilat al llarg d’un període d’11 mesos d’observació de dos grups de recerca (RGs) multinacionals amb seu en una universitat catalana, i s’han contrastat amb dades extretes d’un RG amb seu a Alemanya i amb idees inspirades en les pràctiques del RG de la pròpia investigadora. De l'objectiu empíric n’ha derivat un objectiu teòric, que consisteix a dissenyar i provar un marc teòric adequat per estudiar el fenomen proposat de manera integral. Aquest estudi té l’objectiu de contribuir a la limitada literatura que descriu aquelles pràctiques comunicatives "informals" i inèdites dels científics, així com a la literatura sobre la internacionalització de l’ensenyament superior. A nivell pràctic, aquest treball pretén contribuir a la millora de les polítiques d’internacionalització de les institucions d’ensenyament superior de Catalunya, d’Europa i potencialment d’altres contextos arreu del món.Las universidades de todo el mundo son instadas a participar en el proceso de ‘internacionalización’ como distintivo de calidad y como reclamo para atraer estudiantes. Este estudio aborda esta cuestión desde el contexto de las instituciones catalanas de educación superior, que afrontan el dilema de apoyar la/s lengua/s local/es y, a la vez, abrazar el multilingüismo y, sobre todo, el inglés. El objetivo principal de este estudio es examinar el impacto de la internacionalización de la educación superior en la comunicación diaria de los científicos. Los datos etnográficos se han recopilado a lo largo de un período de 11 meses de observación de dos grupos de investigación (RGs) multinacionales con sede en una universidad catalana, y se han contrastado con datos extraídos de un RG con sede en Alemania y con ideas inspiradas en las prácticas del RG de la propia investigadora. Del objetivo empírico ha derivado un objetivo teórico, que consiste en diseñar y probar un marco teórico adecuado para estudiar el fenómeno propuesto de manera integral. Este estudio tiene el objetivo de contribuir a la limitada literatura que describe aquellas prácticas comunicativas "informales" e inéditas de los científicos, así como a la literatura sobre la internacionalización de la enseñanza superior. A nivel práctico, este trabajo pretende contribuir a la mejora de las políticas de internacionalización de las instituciones de enseñanza superior de Cataluña, de Europa y potencialmente de otros contextos en todo el mundo.Universities worldwide are urged to engage in the process of ‘internationalisation’ as a hallmark of quality and as a lure to attract students. The current study approaches this issue from the context of Catalan higher education institutions, which deal with the dilemma of supporting the local language(s) and at the same time embracing multilingualism and especially English. The main aim of this study is to examine the impact of the internationalisation of higher education on the daily communication of scientists. Ethnographic data have been collected throughout a period of 11 months from two multinational research groups (RGs) based in a Catalan state university, and contrasted with data taken from a RG based in Germany and with insights from the researcher’s own RG. From the empirical objective has derived a theoretical objective, consisting in designing and proving a suitable theoretical framework to study the phenomenon holistically. This study aims to contribute to the limited body of research describing scientists’ "informal" and unpublished communicative practices, as well as to the literature on the internationalisation of higher education. On a practical level, this work is intended to aid in the improvement of internationalisation policies of higher education institutions in Catalonia, in Europe and potentially in other contexts worldwide

Life histories of Black South African scientists : academic success in an unequal society.

Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Durban-Westville, 2000.The purpose of this research is to document the experiences of black South African scientists en-route to gaining a doctorate and provide an explanation of how and why they achieved academic success in the unequal South African society. The South African apartheid society was designed to promote black intellectual underdevelopment. Some managed to proceed to university and a few gained a doctorate. Little is known about these experiences beyond the anecdotal accounts. This study attempts a more systematic study about academic success in an unequal society. The study used a life history approach to understand and explain academic success. The study is not located in any particular discipline or apriori theoretical constructs. The approach involved individuals relating their experience and their subjective interpretation of their experiences. I have written individual stories and by grounded theorising in a cross-case analysis I have suggested constructs to provide an explanation of why they achieved academic success. This study gives us the social history of the education for blacks in South Africa for the period 1948 to 1994. The life stories are contextualised within that social historical period. In this study the analytical, research stories of individuals are presented. These stories illuminate the unfolding of the academic lives and the dynamics that shaped the unfolding of those lives. Using the ten stories a composite thick description of how the variables (social, institutional and individual) shaped the academic pathways for the group is presented. From this data explanatory constructs are suggested to provide an explanation of their academic success. In order to pursue and achieve academic success it was necessary that participants demonstrate academic capability and have access to resources (material and information). In this research I propose three new explanatory constructs plus a fourth one which is not unanticipated but expresses itself in unusual ways in the South African context. The three constructs I am proposing and which are not found in the life history literature about academic success are: academic role replication and expectation; strategic compliance and deferred gratification. The explanatory construct, coherence of roles and support mechanisms, had a particular characteristic in South Africa during this period

Exploring psychological strategies to manage fatigue in endurance sport

Research project submitted to University of Wolverhampton, November 2020 for the award of Master of Philosophy.The purpose of the study is to examine psychological interventions and their contextual validity in endurance-based sporting events. Over the course of three studies the work examines interventions for coping with fatigue in both laboratory and real-world settings. Participants range in ability and experience from novice to sub-elite competitors. The two cycling-based studies explore pacing strategies and goal directed self-talk. The final study delivers brief interventions to sub-elite runners in repeated trials at their local parkrun. Results throughout were mixed and often it was not clear the extent to which the intervention had been effective. The studies highlight the complexity and challenge involved in trying to teach and then measure psychological interventions in this context. Many factors influence performance, and more work is needed in understanding and highlighting the impact of training, experience, competitive conditions, belief effect and so on. In particular the motivation levels of athletes are critical when trying to assess a maximal performance. Case studies will be a useful model in future research to understand the complexities of individual athletes. Finding creative ways to examine athletes in environmentally valid settings, where there can be a high degree of confidence in athlete effort levels, will be valuable. The relationship between belief effect and the athlete’s choice of coping strategy is worthy of further research

Healthcare, frugal innovation, and professional voluntarism : a cost-benefit analysis

This book investigates what international placements of healthcare employees in low resource settings add to the UK workforce and the efficacy of its national health system. The authors present empirical data collected from a volunteer deployment project in Uganda focused on reducing maternal and new-born mortality and discuss the learning and experiential outcomes for UK health care professionals acting as long term volunteers in low resource settings. They also develop a model for structured placement that offers optimal learning and experiential outcomes and minimizes risk, while shedding new light on the role that international placements play as part of continuing professional development both in the UK and in other sending countries

Beyond Constructivism: An Introduction to Critical Realism in Science Education

In the context of social and philosophical debates concerning the nature of science, this thesis provides an introductory investigation of the application of critical realism to science education. It moves beyond the current impasse within constructivist science education and, in particular, philosophical debates that fail to represent science education as a whole. The current dominance of anti-realist positions in science education is treated as problematic. This thesis explores selected current and potential uses of critical realism in an endeavour to move beyond the perceived inadequacies of constructivism as the current paradigm of science education. The approach used is one of philosophical reflection engaging with literature that addressed representative positions in science education concerning epistemology, critical realism, the nature of science, and constructivism. A preliminary explanatory framework for science education is developed. Features of this critical realist framework include epistemic humility, judgmental rationality, recognition of the transitive and intransitive domains, a stratified ontology, and the distinction between open and closed systems. A central core of the framework is the insistence that epistemology models ontology. The framework provides a philosophy that reflects the working epistemology of practising scientists and provides a robust stratified ontology. The framework also possesses greater theoretical and explanatory power than that of constructivism

Managing innovations in engineering industries

It has been shown in this thesis why innovations are regarded as the lifeline of engineering industries. Continuous flow of novel ideas is the source of innovations but the encouragement, creation and nurturing of such ideas requires many distinct managerial attributes. Hence, management of innovations is complex but an important area of study which is not amenable to standard analyses due to its multidisciplinary nature and dependence on a large number of intangible variables. It has been shown that proper management of innovations would involve at least three distinct but closely linked activities, namely: (a) managing people, in particular the innovators, as well as inspiring others to become innovators; (b) managing the environment so that it is conducive to innovations; and (c) managing innovative processes in order to ensure that innovations are properly nurtured, well targeted and economically implemented within clearly defined time and budgetary constraints. The thesis has been divided into eight chapters; an outline of the chapters is given below. Chapter 1 is an introduction to the subject of managing innovations in engineering industries. It sets the scene for carrying out research in this field, identifies the problems to be tackled and makes a clear statement of the aims. Chapter 2 offers a critical review of the published works relevant to the field of research covered in this thesis. The purpose of this study was to understand the state of the art approach to: (a) creating and maintaining the innovative environment; (b) inspiring and leading engineers to come up with innovative solutions for engineering problems; (c) managing the innovative processes for better efficiency. Finally, in view of the comprehensive review of the relevant published literature, this chapter justifies the aims of this research. Chapter 3 describes research methodology i. e. the procedure for conducting this programme of research. The purpose of this study was to ensure that the research programme was conducted in accordance with the scientific method as closely as practicable. For sake of clarity, chapter 4 first draws distinction between inventions, innovations and engineering design and later identifies a large number of intangible factors that influence the three principal components, i. e. innovative environment, innovators and the innovation process. It is suggested that the innovativeness of engineering companies depends on these three principal components. Hence, innovativeness may be assessed by determining the influence of each on the principal components with the help of suitable computational techniques. Two computer applications have been developed to: (a) evaluate the innovativeness of engineering organisations; and (b) analyse the risks embedded in either accepting innovative ideas or implementing innovative projects. These applications are based on questionnaires and may serve as computer aided management (CAM) tools for dealing with the multidimensional problem of managing innovations speedily and efficiently. Chapter 5 analyses the influence of factors identified in chapter 4 and uses the two aforementioned applications to survey the innovativeness of four engineering organisations for their innovativeness and evaluate two projects for the risks surrounding them. These assessments were carried in the form of six case studies. Chapter 6 and Chapter 7 present the results of the six case studies and a focused discussion of the results and other observations made during the course of this research. Chapter 8 draws conclusion from this research and proposes further work that may be carried out in order to study yet unknown factors, refine the questionnaires conduct further tests in different industrial environments to build confidence in the use of CAM Applications as tools for rapid response management of innovations in engineering industries