Center for Activity Theory and Developmental Work Research

Anu Kajamaa, M.A. (Educ.), Doctoral Student

Tel.: +358 9 191 44195
Mobile: +358 408232358

Postal address:
Center for Activity Theory and Developmental Work Research
P.O. Box 26 (Teollisuuskatu 23-25)
Fin-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland

Current Activities

The research task in my dissertation is to develop an approach which takes evaluation of organizational change projects beyond traditional evaluation paradigm and offers new directions and possibilities for evaluation and organizational development. The dissertation focuses on 'gaps' in evaluation studies and evaluation practices and offers an approach and tools to identify, interpret and overcome the gaps. An activity theoretically oriented, interventionist narrative evaluation approach is developed in the dissertation, and former developmental interventions are explored with the approach. The study both explores and facilitates evaluation actions in micro-level organizational contexts in Finnish health care and goes beyond this level by conceptually connecting the analysis to macro-sociological aspects related to evaluation.

My dissertation will comprise an introduction, journal articles, and a summary. The central concepts of the dissertation are narrative evaluation, activity theory, consequences, learning, change, development, sustainability, diffusion, assessment tools, and negotiation. My study is multidisciplinary and explorative in nature, and can be placed in fields of education, evaluation, activity theory, narrative research, and management studies.

The four research sites of my dissertation are from the health care sector in Finland. In all of the research sites, a large scale activity theoretically oriented intervention has been carried out in the past. The research sites are a surgical operating unit at a university hospital, an internal disease ward at a university hospital, a clinic of a health center and a health center consortium.

Short Biography

My background is in adult education (M.A. Educ. in 2005), and I am currently writing my dissertation in the doctoral programme on Developmental Work Research and Adult Education (DWEAE) at the Center for Activity Theory and Developmental Work Research at the University of Helsinki. The doctoral school belongs to the Finnish Graduate School in Education and Learning (FiGSEL), which is the largest Finnish graduate school and is financed by Finland's Ministry of Education and the Finnish Research Academy.

I completed the studies required for Ph.D (80 credits, dissertation not included) in December 2008.

Previously I worked as a research assistant (2004-2005) and a researcher (2005-2007) at the Center for Activity Theory and Developmental Work Research. I took part to a large scale Change Laboratory intervention project as one of the facilitators at a university hospital during the Autumn 2006.

I completed Pedagogical studies (60 credits) at the Department of Applied Sciences of Education, University of Helsinki in December 2008.

Documents

		Recent conference presentations and papers Recent_conference_presentations_and_papers.pdf	PDF 26.9 KB
		Research Plan of the Dissertation_Anu Kajamaa_2008 Research_Plan_of_the_dissertation_Anu_Kajamaa_2008.pdf	PDF 148.12 KB
		Tutkimus- ja kehittämishanke Projekteilla_kehittamisesta_kestavaan_kehittamiseen_-hanke.pdf	PDF 92.2 KB
		Tutkimus- ja kehittämishanke II Tyon_kehittamisen_kestavyys_ja_leviaminen_-hanke.pdf	PDF 71.25 KB
		Tutkimus- ja kehittämishankkeiden loppuraportit Tutkimus-_ja_kehittamishankkeiden_loppuraportit.pdf	PDF 2.53 KB

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