Through the Eye of a Fly: Action Research as a Support for the South African National Literacy Campaign

Globally and across the African continent, the past decade has seen an increase in the commitment to reducing adult illiteracy, inspired among other things by the Education for All (EFA) drive to halve the incidence of illiteracy among adults and youth by 2015. While literacy campaigns were less common during the 1990s, the last decade saw a new impetus for mass adult literacy campaigns as a way of improving national literacy levels. This paper examines the South African endeavour to meet its EFA target through the implementation of the South African Kha Ri Gude Mass Literacy Campaign, which was launched by the South African government in 2008 with the aim of enliterating 4,7 million adults who had little or no education as a result of the apartheid legacy. The Campaign was deemed successful receiving a number of South African awards for best practice and its work in rural and impoverished communities including the international UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy (UNESCO 2016). This article focuses on how the campaign utilised action-oriented processes, specifically the methods of participatory action research (PAR), to enhance the achievement of its goals. The methods of PAR were embedded in the campaign structure, comprising clusters of communities of practice (COPs) which provided fora for educators to voice and address challenges. Moreover, since the Campaign was implemented in post-apartheid South Africa, the article shows how the Campaign operations were guided by the ethos of ubuntu as necessary for redress and empowerment.     

Power,Conflicts, and Resolutions: A Change Agent's Perspective on Conducting Action Research Within a Multiorganizational Partnership

Partnership has become the watchword of government policy over the past 10 years. It is a politically expedient solution to a wide range of complex public policy issues. Although examined in the literature from the viewpoint of an external observer, there has been relatively little examination of what it means to be working in a partnership from the inside. Based on experience as a change agent and action researcher working within a multiorganizational partnership, this paper considers the dilemmas and resolutions experienced in this role. The paper provides a first person reflective account of the inherent ethical, political, and personal turmoils and issues around multilevel dynamics, role ambiguity, power games, political entrepreneurship, and shadows of the past. The paper exposes the key learning points to emerge and concludes that change agents need good support mechanisms and bestowed power in order to challenge vested and powerful interests.     

Reflection on the Purposes of Research,Action, and Scholarship: A Case of Cross-Cultural Participatory Action Research

Beginning with some basic principles of participatory action research, the author draws upon personal experience to identify the ways in which the experience of the practice of participatory action research creates forms of publication somewhat different in intent and nature from conventional forms of research. The experience selected involves cross-cultural research, and the particular problems of representation of the other in such settings are engaged. The overall experience is then drawn upon to identify some of the key qualities of action research which differ both from other forms of research and from some of the advocacies for action research.     

A History of the Action Learning,Action Research,and Process Management Association (ALARPM): From Brisbane (Australia) to the World Through Inclusion and Networks

Action Learning, Action Research, and Process Management Association (ALARPM) is an organization of volunteers dedicated to the international expansion of action learning, action research, and process management, through world congresses. It has existed for over a dozen years now, despite significant stresses and strains, and has successfully conducted five world congresses with a sixth one in 2003. This history of ALARPM shows that a small group can set out to be international and inclusive from the beginning, so long as it also develops processes to sustain itself internally.     

Management of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment in Brazilian Public Education Institutions: Implementation Through Action Research on a University Campus

One of the problems facing public education institutions in Brazil is the question of the correct handling and treatment of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). Being that these institutions are part of the public sector, they should adhere to Decree no. 99,658/1990 for the disposal of their goods. However, this decree is not completely in accordance with the Brazilian National Solid Waste Policy (PNRS), especially when considering the regulations for disposal of public goods. Thus, these institutions have no WEEE management model which encompasses not only the Decree but also the PNRS. An example of this situation can be found at the Federal University of Itajubá (UNIFEI) in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Due to the lack of such a management model, the university warehouse is at full capacity and unable to receive additional electronic equipment. Therefore, the objective of this study is to create a management model for WEEE to be used at public education institutions using the guidelines set forth in both the Decree and the PNRS. An action research investigation was performed at UNIFEI which relied upon two improvement and learning cycles to deal with all the WEEE found at the university. The first was undertaken at the university warehouse and the second at other sectors within the institution. In addition to the practical results obtained by properly disposing of 474 WEEE products, this study showed that action research is an adequate management tool for public institutions looking to deal with problems of this nature, being that these institutions are almost always subject to bureaucratic controls with respect to their public property, and expected to follow rigorous legislation that is often times controversial.     

灰色系统理论的发展、应用与扩散特征研究

通过采集中国期刊网数据库题目中含有灰色系统的文献,对20世纪80年代初以来灰色系统研究成果的规模和增长态势、主要研究机构、期刊、主题和学科分布结构,文献的产生方式、高被引成果等进行分析,揭示了我国灰色系统的产生、发展、扩散特征以及存在的问题。     

虚拟加工环境建模及实现技术

为了有效支持虚拟加工系统的构建，提出可重构、可扩展的层次结构虚拟加工环境模型。它由部件层、设备层和环境层组成。部件模型包括几何模型和物理属性仿真模型，而设备模型和环境模型分别由配置模型和控制模型组成。给出了基于软件工程思想和面向对象设计方法的各层模型的实现方法和技术。介绍了用这些模型和技术建立的虚拟加工环境实例。     

基于Web的工作流管理系统及企业应用集成技术研究

基于 Web的工作流管理系统 (WFMS)是工作流研究领域重要的研究方向 .本文在分析工作流技术的基础上 ,提出应用 Web的通讯机制、以 CORBA解决分布式互操作 ,建立工作流管理系统 ,应用集成的思想 .并对 WFMS的安全问题进行了讨论.     

从工期的时间价值角度研究施工机械的租用原则

工程的工期具有时间价值。施工进度计划只是一个计划,总存在风险。工程中所采用的进度计划是风险可接受的方案。施工过程中,具体的施工条件不断变化,施工进度随之变化,使得模块集团所面临的风险发生了变化。为了确保进度计划所面临的风险在可接受的范围内,集团决策者必须作出相应决策,其中一个主要办法是调整租用施工机械的使用费率来吸收平行项目的承包者的资源。