Open Access Theses - Social Sciences and Humanities - 2011-2020
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PublicationKnowledge Management – Advancements and Future Research Needs – Results from the Global Knowledge Research Network study( 2015)Over the last two decades the role of knowledge in organizations has attracted considerable attention from organizational practice and academia (Beamish & Armistead, 2001; Blackler, Reed, & Whitaker, 1993; Grant, 1996; Jasimuddin, 2006; Nonaka, 1994). A broad research community has emerged around with about 40 peer-reviewed journals (Serenko & Bontis, 2013a, 2013b; Serenko, Bontis, Booker, Sadeddin, & Hardie, 2010) which has attracted scholars from fields such as management, information management and library sciences, psychology and organizational studies, sociology and computer sciences as well as engineering and philosophy (Baskerville & Dulipovici, 2006; Gu, 2004; Lee & Chen, 2012; Martin, 2008; Venzin, Von Krogh, & Roos, 1998; Wallace, Van Fleet, & Downs, 2011). The assessment of the KM field ranges from suggestions that KM is in a state of "pre-science" with different paradigms and disagreement about fundamentals in the field (Hazlett, McAdam, & Gallagher, 2005) while others see a ‘healthy arena with a strong foundation in multiple theories and clear direction for future work (Baskerville & Dulipovici, 2006).
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PublicationOvercoming Odds: Success Stories of Immigrant [Sub-Saharan African] University Students: A Well-being Perspective( 2016)"The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the experiences of sixteen Sub-Saharan African post-secondary students, and how they were able to succeed in spite of tremendous odds. The study was also designed to investigate ways to enhance educational attainment among recent immigrant students in Canadian schools and universities. The study was dedicated to advancing the understanding of recent immigrant students, from Sub-Saharan Africa, who had faced life challenges and multiple traumas. With a focus on their well-being, the development of this new knowledge will help policymakers and educators to develop strategies to enable culturally, linguistically, and socio-economically diverse students to reach their potential in their new country. The students selected for the study were resilient individuals who were seen as successful. Success stories of immigrant students from Sub-Saharan Africa who had overcome turmoil in their lives were investigated. These were newcomers to Canada who had succeeded against all odds both in Africa and Canada. This study was based on the premise that in a community all individuals may have access to the same resources, but unlike others, some individuals manage to overcome the problems that confront others (Pascale et al., 2010). These individuals are unique in their communities and their outcomes have deviated in a positive way from the norm (Pascale et al., 2010). The practices and insights of sixteen Sub-Saharan African students that had proven to be the key to their resilience and success were described from in-depth interviews. Further understandings were derived from structured narrative analysis. Using a qualitative research approach, this study developed insights into: the factors that hinder or enhance educational attainment and well-being among students; the perceptions of those students and the practices used by those who influence, support and educate them; and understanding of the practices that stimulate interests and contribute positively toward enhancing the education attainment and well-being of Sub-Saharan African students. The factors that enhance educational attainment and well-being among students were investigated through the use of support structures. These identified support structures were parental support, the social support they received from friends and social networks, religious/spiritual support, the support they received from their communities, physical support, financial support, the motivations or inspirations they received from teachers, school/university support, and career support. The findings of this study expand and enrich both local and international literature on issues relating to youth or students who have experienced turmoil in their lives, and some of the factors that contribute to their resilience and well-being. These findings further shed light on the topic of enhancing education attainment and the subject of well-being of ethnic minorities and, in particular, Sub-Saharan African immigrant students who have experienced turmoil in their lives. While this topic has been gaining interest in recent years, the formulation and implementation of strategic educational practices to promote educational attainment and well-being for African or Sub-Saharan African students is in its infancy in Canadian. Hence, the new knowledge and insights presented within this study will help policymakers, support persons, and educators to develop strategies that will enable and encourage such students to thrive and flourish."
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PublicationGender-queer Identity and Resistance to Gender Binary in Andrea Gibson's Poetry( 2015)The question of gender, specifically gender identity, is prominent in today’s society. It is highly debated and through the development of queer theory it is gaining more academic recognition. However, there is a gap regarding representation of the gender-queer identity of one contemporary poet, Andrea Gibson. Gibson provides a much needed perspective and voice in society and scholarly debates. This is why this essay uses queer theory along with Kate Bornstein and Judith Butler to examine three poems by Gibson, “Swing-Set, “The Jewelry Store” and “A Genderful Pep-Talk for my Younger Self”. The essay analyses the ways Gibson, through poetry, formulates a gender-queer identity and thus questions the generic gender binary system.
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PublicationThe Role of Motivational Strategies in the Upper Elementary Classroom : A systematic literature review about teacher strategies that promote self-confidence, motivation and a conducive learning environment( 2016)The aim of this literature review is to investigate which strategies teachers use to motivate pupils to communicate orally in English. The literature review also investigates how these teacher strategies affect pupils. The methodology used for this investigation is a systematic literature review. Various databases have been used when searching for literature. Scientific articles and theses have been searched for. They have also been read and analyzed before they have become a part of this review. The results indicate that some teachers feel insecure when speaking English. Therefore Swedish is spoken in many language classrooms. Teachers speaking in front of the class is the traditional way of teaching, and it does not seem to be a strategy who influences pupils positively. If teachers speak the target language among pupils they often get more motivated and focused pupils who feel comfortable speaking English. Young pupils are fast learners. By exposing them to the English language in early ages they receive great opportunities to learn a foreign language and strengthen their self-confidence. Drama, songs and rhymes are preferable strategies to use when teaching young learners. What position teachers decide to take in the classroom is also a significant element when teaching foreign languages.
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PublicationUnderstanding Resilience and Risks : A Qualitative Case Study of International Disaster Policy and Informal Settlements in Buenos Aires, Argentina( 2015)This study is the result of a two-year long minor field study project of informal settlements in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The aim was to analyse the concept of disaster resilience by describing possible contemporary complications in both theory and practice related to resilience and risks of informal settlements in Buenos Aires. For this reason I have applied the theoretical concept of resilience used by United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). The research has been conducted in two local settings of informal settlements by using a qualitative case study approach of semi-structured interviews and observations. The chosen area of empirics has been limited to local voluntary and political organisations in a context of self-organization were all chosen interviewees have some relation to either projects or organizations in the area. The results show that local context of functionality depends on different political strategies that can either restrict or assist the process of resilience, which can occur on both individual and collective levels of community. In this context resistance to natural hazards becomes contradictive in absence of prevention when resilience is achieved without even touching high levels of vulnerability such as drugs and violence. In this setting United Nations stands before a change of paradigms in either continuing to manage disasters or change focus to manage underlying drivers of risks. / Este estudio es el resultado de un proyecto de dos años de un estudio de campo menor sobre los asentamientos informales en Buenos Aires, Argentina. El propósito fue analizar el concepto de resiliencia de los desastres, describiendo las posibles complicaciones contemporáneos tanto en la teoría y la práctica, en relación con la resiliencia y los riesgos de los asentamientos informales en Buenos Aires. Por esta razón he aplicado el concepto teórico de la resiliencia utilizada por la Estrategia Internacional para la Reducción de Desastres de las Naciones Unidas (UNISDR). La investigación se ha realizado en dos configuraciones locales de los asentamientos informales, mediante el uso de un enfoque de estudio de caso cualitativo de observaciones y entrevistas semi-estructuradas. El área elegida de análisis empírico se ha limitado a las organizaciones locales de voluntarios y políticos en un contexto de auto-organización, donde todos los entrevistados han sido elegidos porque tienen alguna relación con cualquiera de los proyectos u organizaciones de la zona. Los resultados muestran que el contexto local de la funcionalidad depende de diferentes estrategias políticas que pueden restringir o asistir al proceso de resiliencia, esto puede ocurrir en ambos niveles individuales y colectivos de la comunidad. En este contexto, la resistencia a las amenazas naturales se vuelve contradictorio por la ausencia de la prevención, cuando se alcanza la capacidad de resiliencia sin tocar los altos niveles de vulnerabilidad, como las drogas y la violencia. En este escenario las Naciones Unidas se encuentra ante un cambio de paradigma, ya sea continuar para gestionar los desastres o cambiar de enfoque para gestionar los factores subyacentes de los riesgos. / Minor Field Study