Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Portfolio'

Abstract The main objective of this study is to clarify the current challenges and preconditions relating to product portfolio management (PPM) and widen the PPM framework over horizontal and vertical portfolios, including a related governance model, strategic performance management and the PPM process. This study analyses comprehensively the current PPM literature and the relevant practices of 10 case companies representing business areas such as hardware (HW), software (SW) and Services. This study approaches PPM from a more comprehensive viewpoint as all product life cycle phases and product structure levels are not covered well in this context by the earlier literature. The principal results of this study involve revealing the need for a new PPM governance model including strategic targets, KPIs and the PPM process according to vertical and horizontal portfolios. The created PPM framework clarifies the strategic role of PPM in cross-functional analysis and decision making for commercial and technical portfolios. The role and the impact of strategic PPM have been further enhanced by positioning the PPM process on the level of other business processes. The created PPM framework enhances the collaboration between business and engineering teams. The managerial implications include the potential preconditions of clarifying the dynamic and active role of PPM at the level of other business processes. The findings can aid business managers in understanding PPM as an entity that has a role in managing the entire product portfolio and its renewal based on strategic performance measures over horizontal and vertical portfolios according to cross-functional governance bodies. This highlights the criticality of managing all items both in commercial and technical portfolios. The role of other business processes should be highly operational by executing product development, marketing and sales, delivery and care activities according to PPM decisions. The primary role of PPM should be active management of the entire product portfolio over product life cycle phases and product structure levels, instead of merely focusing on new product development, to ensure product portfolio renewal<br>Tiivistelmä Tämä tutkimus selventää tuoteportfolion hallintaan liittyviä edellytyksiä ja haasteita, sekä laajentaa tuoteportfolion hallintamallia, suorituskyvyn johtamista ja prosessia horisontaalisesti ja vertikaalisesti. Tuoteportfolion hallintaa on lähestytty kattavasti analysoimalla nykyistä kirjallisuutta, sekä kymmenen kohdeyrityksen käytänteitä nykytila-analyysin keinoin. Kohdeyritykset edustavat useita liiketoiminta- ja tuotealueita kattaen laitteiston, ohjelmiston ja palvelut. Tämä tutkimus lähestyy tuoteportfolion hallintaa laajemmalta katsantokannalta kuin nykyinen kirjallisuus joka ei kata kaikkia tuotteen elinkaaren vaiheita ja tuoterakennetasoja. Tämän väitöstutkimuksen tärkeimmät tulokset liittyvät uuden tuoteportfolion hallintamallin tarpeellisuuden esille tuomiseen, sisältäen tuoteportfolion strategiset tavoitteet, suorituskykymittarit ja hallintaprosessin perustuen vertikaalisiin ja horisontaalisiin tuoteportfolioihin. Luotu viitekehys selkeyttää tuoteportfolion hallinnan strategista roolia organisaatiorajat ja liiketoimintaprosessit ylittävässä analyysissa ja päätöksenteossa liittyen kaupallisiin ja teknisiin tuoteportfolioihin. Strategisen tuoteportfolion hallinnan roolia ja merkitystä on erityisesti korostettu nostamalla tuoteportfolion hallintaprosessi muiden liiketoimintaprosessien tasolle. Tässä tutkimuksessa luotu tuoteportfolion hallinnan viitekehys vahvistaa yhteistyötä liiketoiminnanjohto- ja insinööritiimien välillä kaikilla organisaatiotasoilla. Työn kontribuutiot yritysjohdolle korostavat tuoteportfolion hallintaprosessin keskitettyä, dynaamista ja aktiivista roolia johtaa yrityksen kaupallisia ja teknisiä nimikkeitä horisontaalisesti ja vertikaalisesti kokonaisuutena perustuen strategisiin suorituskykymittareihin. Tuoteportfolion hallinta yli horisontaalisten ja vertikaalisten portfolioiden mahdollistaa tuoteportfolion uudistumisen yli kaikkien elinkaarivaiheiden ja tuoterakennetasojen. Muiden liiketoimintaprosessien roolin tulisi olla selkeästi operatiivinen toteuttaen tuotekehitykseen, markkinointiin, myyntiin, tilaamiseen, hankintaan, toimittamiseen ja huoltoon liittyviä tehtäviä perustuen strategisiin tuoteportfolion hallinnan tavoitteisiin ja suorituskykymittareihin

I detta arbete tillämpas en metod för att erhålla en optimal kombination av portföljer som följer olika investeringsstrategier. Detta görs genom att använda en datamängd av historiska stängningspriset för olika typer av värdepapper. Resultatet blir ett urval av totalt 58 olika portföljer vars optimala kombinationer med avseende på riskbenägenhet utvärderas med tre olika riskmått. Det huvudsakliga resultatet presenterat i denna uppsats är den optimala kombinationen för era olika strategier beroende på riskbenägenhet. Portföljavkastning och risken är även utvärderad för sex olika investeringshorisonter, från ett år till totalt tretton år. Det visas att conditional value at risk jämförd med varians och mean absolute deviation resulterar i högre diversi ering. Det visas även att e ekter av tidsdiversi ering har stor negativ påverkan av risken i relation till avkastning.<br>In this work a method for nding the optimal portfolio diversi cation among a set of nite investment strategies is applied. This is done by implementing a simulation method for a data set of historical daily closing prices for di erent types of securities. This results in a total of 58 di erent portfolios for which the optimal combinations in regard to risk propensity is evaluated using three di erent risk measures. The main result of this thesis is the optimal combination of these strategies for several di erent risk propensities. The portfolio returns and risk is also evaluated for six di erent investment horizons, ranging from one year to a maximum thirteen years. It is shown that conditional value at risk compared to variance and mean absolute deviation o ers greater diversi cation. It is also shown that e ects of time diversi cation greatly reduces risk in relation to returns.

In an ever-changing global environment, the ability to adapt to the current economic climate is essential for a company to prosper and survive. Numerous previous re- search state that better risk management and low overall risks will lead to a higher firm value. The purpose of this study is to examine if portfolio theory, made for fi- nancial portfolios, can be used to compose product portfolios in order to minimize risk and optimize returns. The term contingent hedge is defined as an optimal portfolio that can be identified today, that in the future will yield a stable stream of returns at a low level of risk. For companies that might engage in costly hedging activities on the futures market, the benefits of creat- ing a contingent hedge are several. These include creating an optimized portfolio that minimizes risk and avoid trading contracts on futures markets that would incur hefty transaction costs and risks. Using quantitative financial models, product portfolio compositions are generated and compared with the returns and risks profile of individual commodities, as well as the actual product portfolio compositions of publicly traded mining companies. Us- ing Modern Portfolio Theory an efficient frontier is generated, yielding two inde- pendent portfolios, the minimum risk portfolio and the tangency portfolio. The Black-Litterman model is also used to generate yet another portfolio using a Bayesian approach. The portfolios are generated by historic time-series data and compared with the actual future development of commodities; the portfolios are then analyzed and compared. The results indicate that the minimum risk portfolio provides a signif- icantly lower risk than the compositions of all mining companies in the study, as well as the risks of individual commodities. This in turn will lead to several benefits for company management and the firm’s shareholders that are discussed throughout the study. However, as for a return-optimizing portfolio, no significant results can be found. Furthermore, the analysis suggests a series of improvements that could potentially yield an even greater result. The recommendation is that mining companies can use the methods discussed throughout this study as a way to generate a costless contin- gent hedge, rather than engage in hedging activities on futures markets.

In this project, we aim to find a method for obtainingthe factors in a bull/bear market factor model for asset returnand variance, given an optimal portfolio. The proposed methodwas derived using the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditionsfor optimal solutions to the convex Markowitz portfolio selectionproblem. For synthetic data where all necessary parameters wereknown exactly, the method could give bounds on the factors. Theexact values of the factors were obtained when short selling wasallowed, and in some instances when short selling was forbidden.The method was evaluated on real-world data with varyingresults, possibly due to estimation errors and invalid assumptionsabout the model of the investor.I. INTRODUC<br>Målet med detta projekt var att utveckla en metod som givet en optimal portfölj returnerar sannolikheter för tjur-/björnmarknad. Dessa sannolikheter är faktorer i en faktormodell, vilken modellerar tillgångars förväntade avkastning samt variansen i deras avkastning. Den föreslagna metoden härleddes från Karush- Kuhn-Tucker-villkoren som uppfylls av optimala lösningar till det konvexa Markowitz-problemet. För syntetiska data där alla nödvändiga parametrar var kända exakt kunde metoden ge undre och övre gränser för faktorernas värden. Exakta värden för faktorerna erhölls i de fall då blankning var tillåten, samt i enskilda fall då blankning var förbjuden. Metoden tillämpades även på riktiga data utan entydiga resultat, möjligtvis till följd av skattningsfel samt ogiltiga antaganden om investerarens modell.

The master's thesis is focused on Stock portfolio optimalization on Czech capital market. The analysis of each stock, estimation and portfolio optimalization proposal are included. In the practical part the Fundamental analysis is applied. The portfolio optimalization is estemated by portfolio theory which is consist in the relationship between stock price and market trends represents by PX Index and expressing correlation of them by beta coefficient.

Hlavním cílem této práce je poskytnout přehledné a ucelené informace o aplikaci portfolia managementu v projektovém řízení, zprostředkovat zkušenosti a doporučení ze zahraničních aplikací a také seznámit potencionální zájemce s návody, jak v případě zájmu postupovat při aplikaci v praxi. Práce vychází z obecného pohledu klasické teorie portfolia, na tuto část navazuje teoreticky zaměřený úsek věnující se teorii portfolio managementu. Poslední část je věnována aplikaci portfolia managementu a konkrétní ukázce implementace z praxe.

This thesis is focused on security portfolio optimalization using the value of stock screener. The theoretical section discusses the basic theory of markets, modern portfolio theory, diversification and the types of risks associated with financial activities, the basic steps to become an investor. The practical part is designed to build optimized stocks portfolio using the value of screening, its feigned purchase on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), followed by monitoring the evolution rate of the portfolio thus created.

This site was created to fulfill graduation requirements for my Master's of Public Administration at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. My e-portfolio is a multi-dimensional collection of the work I have completed over the years as a graduate student. This e-portfolio showcases the deliverables I have created for my courses in public policy, public management, and public service. In addition, you will also find some of the deliverables I have developed and created as a GIS Technician and Project Management Assistant to a broadband consulting firm. Please use the tabs provided to get to know me and the work that I have completed in my pursuit to become a public servant.<br>Master of Public Administration

My initial intention is to try to show how, as a poet in South Africa, I suffer from a creative identity crisis. I am a white English-speaking male. I live surrounded by isiXhosa-speaking people. Is my poetry, or will my poetry be, relevant in the ‘New’ South Africa? Is English, the language of the colonial oppressors, the appropriate medium in the post-apartheid milieu? Will my subject matter be relevant? These questions and my attempts at answering them, form the basis of the poetry and the portfolio that accompanies the poems. My absorption with finding a creative ‘voice’, my concerns with the environment and a questioning of what post-apartheid poetry should write about all seem a bit Quixotic, especially to me! But at another level, they are deeply serious. (p. 5.)

The research presented in this thesis addresses different aspects of dynamic portfolio construction and portfolio risk measurement. It brings the research on dynamic portfolio optimization, replicating portfolio construction, dynamic portfolio risk measurement and volatility forecast together. The overall aim of this research is threefold. First, it is aimed to examine the portfolio construction and risk measurement performance of a broad set of volatility forecast and portfolio optimization model. Second, in an effort to improve their forecast accuracy and portfolio construction performance, it is aimed to propose new models or new formulations to the available models. Third, in order to enhance the replication performance of hedge fund returns, it is aimed to introduce a replication approach that has the potential to be used in numerous applications, in investment management. In order to achieve these aims, Chapter 2 addresses risk measurement in dynamic portfolio construction. In this chapter, further evidence on the use of multivariate conditional volatility models in hedge fund risk measurement and portfolio allocation is provided by using monthly returns of hedge fund strategy indices for the period 1990 to 2009. Building on Giamouridis and Vrontos (2007), a broad set of multivariate GARCH models, as well as, the simpler exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) estimator of RiskMetrics (1996) are considered. It is found that, while multivariate GARCH models provide some improvements in portfolio performance over static models, they are generally dominated by the EWMA model. In particular, in addition to providing a better risk-adjusted performance, the EWMA model leads to dynamic allocation strategies that have a substantially lower turnover and could therefore be expected to involve lower transaction costs. Moreover, it is shown that these results are robust across the low - volatility and high-volatility sub-periods. Chapter 3 addresses optimization in dynamic portfolio construction. In this chapter, the advantages of introducing alternative optimization frameworks over the mean-variance framework in constructing hedge fund portfolios for a fund of funds. Using monthly return data of hedge fund strategy indices for the period 1990 to 2011, the standard mean-variance approach is compared with approaches based on CVaR, CDaR and Omega, for both conservative and aggressive hedge fund investors. In order to estimate portfolio CVaR, CDaR and Omega, a semi-parametric approach is proposed, in which first the marginal density of each hedge fund index is modelled using extreme value theory and the joint density of hedge fund index returns is constructed using a copula-based approach. Then hedge fund returns from this joint density are simulated in order to compute CVaR, CDaR and Omega. The semi-parametric approach is compared with the standard, non-parametric approach, in which the quantiles of the marginal density of portfolio returns are estimated empirically and used to compute CVaR, CDaR and Omega. Two main findings are reported. The first is that CVaR-, CDaR- and Omega-based optimization offers a significant improvement in terms of risk-adjusted portfolio performance over mean-variance optimization. The second is that, for all three risk measures, semi-parametric estimation of the optimal portfolio offers a very significant improvement over non-parametric estimation. The results are robust to as the choice of target return and the estimation period. Chapter 4 searches for improvements in portfolio risk measurement by addressing volatility forecast. In this chapter, two new univariate Markov regime switching models based on intraday range are introduced. A regime switching conditional volatility model is combined with a robust measure of volatility based on intraday range, in a framework for volatility forecasting. This chapter proposes a one-factor and a two-factor model that combine useful properties of range, regime switching, nonlinear filtration, and GARCH frameworks. Any incremental improvement in the performance of volatility forecasting is searched for by employing regime switching in a conditional volatility setting with enhanced information content on true volatility. Weekly S&amp;P500 index data for 1982-2010 is used. Models are evaluated by using a number of volatility proxies, which approximate true integrated volatility. Forecast performance of the proposed models is compared to renowned return-based and range-based models, namely EWMA of Riskmetrics, hybrid EWMA of Harris and Yilmaz (2009), GARCH of Bollerslev (1988), CARR of Chou (2005), FIGARCH of Baillie et al. (1996) and MRSGARCH of Klaassen (2002). It is found that the proposed models produce more accurate out of sample forecasts, contain more information about true volatility and exhibit similar or better performance when used for value at risk comparison. Chapter 5 searches for improvements in risk measurement for a better dynamic portfolio construction. This chapter proposes multivariate versions of one and two factor MRSACR models introduced in the fourth chapter. In these models, useful properties of regime switching models, nonlinear filtration and range-based estimator are combined with a multivariate setting, based on static and dynamic correlation estimates. In comparing the out-of-sample forecast performance of these models, eminent return and range-based volatility models are employed as benchmark models. A hedge fund portfolio construction is conducted in order to investigate the out-of-sample portfolio performance of the proposed models. Also, the out-of-sample performance of each model is tested by using a number of statistical tests. In particular, a broad range of statistical tests and loss functions are utilized in evaluating the forecast performance of the variance covariance matrix of each portfolio. It is found that, in terms statistical test results, proposed models offer significant improvements in forecasting true volatility process, and, in terms of risk and return criteria employed, proposed models perform better than benchmark models. Proposed models construct hedge fund portfolios with higher risk-adjusted returns, lower tail risks, offer superior risk-return tradeoffs and better active management ratios. However, in most cases these improvements come at the expense of higher portfolio turnover and rebalancing expenses. Chapter 6 addresses the dynamic portfolio construction for a better hedge fund return replication and proposes a new approach. In this chapter, a method for hedge fund replication is proposed that uses a factor-based model supplemented with a series of risk and return constraints that implicitly target all the moments of the hedge fund return distribution. The approach is used to replicate the monthly returns of ten broad hedge fund strategy indices, using long-only positions in ten equity, bond, foreign exchange, and commodity indices, all of which can be traded using liquid, investible instruments such as futures, options and exchange traded funds. In out-of-sample tests, proposed approach provides an improvement over the pure factor-based model, offering a closer match to both the return performance and risk characteristics of the hedge fund strategy indices.

This thesis presents the development of a new control mechanism for managing portfolio of projects in today’s rapidly changing environment and fierce global competitions. “Portfolio Strategic Control” combines elements of portfolio management and functions of strategic management to control portfolios in a strategic manner and improve portfolio’s performance. This feedforward approach can be applied in parallel with traditional feedback control system to prepare portfolio for future environments by aligning its objectives with organisational strategy, managing resources, risks, and opportunities in an integrated fashion, and adding elements of flexibility and learning to portfolio.

<p>Portfoliometodik är idag ett känt begrepp, likaså digital elevportfolio. Båda dessa begrepp, och en av de programvaror som främst är utvecklade för att vara en aktiv digital elevportfolio, har en central roll i den här studien. Portfolio Manager 2, som programmet i fråga heter, är utvecklat i Sverige av svenska pedagoger.</p><p>Studien har en kvantitativ ansats med enkäter som redskap. En köns- och specialpedagogisk betraktelsegrund fanns i studien, vilket också resulterade i nya pedagogiska rön.</p><p>Studien är utförd i 5 klasser på 2 olika svenska skolor i slöjd, där samtliga elever gick i åk 5.</p><p>Lärarenkäten var utformad så att den skulle kunna ge en bedömning av ”fenomenet” PM2 som helhet, då PM2 även innehåller verktyg av det mer administrativa slaget.</p><p>Studiens resultat bekräftar tidigare studier, dvs. att elevportfolio bidrar positivt till att stärka den pedagogiska lärandeprocessen. Ett nytt rön som framträder i studien, är att flickor i högre grad än pojkar i åk 5, inser portfoliometodikens betydelse för lärandeprocessen. Resultatet visar även att programvaran Portfolio Manager 2 är väl användaranpassat, både som redskap för digital elevportfolio och som ett läraradministrativt redskap.</p><p>Ämnet slöjd är inte ett primärt studieobjekt, men omskrivs kort i studien utifrån den ”överskottsinformation” enkäterna gav. Resultatet för slöjdämnet var positivt.</p><p>Titel: Portfolio som arbetsredskap i skolan - En studie kring portfolio och dataprogrammet Portfolio Manager 2.</p><p>Nivå: C uppsats</p><p>Författare: Lärare i Specialpedagogik, Mats Agnarson - Karlstad.</p><p>Handledare: Hugo Wikström, Karin Bengtsson – Karlstads Universitet.</p><p>Examinator: Anders Arnqvist – Karlstads Universitet</p><br><p>Portfolio methodology and digital portfolio for pupils are nowadays well known conceptions. These two things, just as one of the computer programmes developed in purpose to be an active digital portfolio for pupils, have an essential part of this study. Portfolio Manager 2, which is the name of the programme, is developed in Sweden, by Swedish pedagogues.</p><p>The study has a quantitative disposition, with questionnaires as instrument. A gender and special needs approach was part of the study, which resulted in new pedagogical experiences. The study was made at 2 different Swedish schools, in 5 classes in form 5. The subject was woodworks and textile craft. The teacher questionnaire was shaped in such a manner that it could provide a judgement of the “phenomena” PM2 as a unit, since PM2 also consists from tools of the more administrative kind.</p><p>The result of the study corroborates earlier studies, which was that the use of portfolio helps pupils in their learning process. The study also shows that girls in form 5, more than boys in the same age group, understand the connection between learning and portfolio methodology. Further more this examination points out that the software Portfolio Manager 2 is very user-friendly, both for pupils using digital portfolio as well as for teachers as an administrative tool.</p><p>The school subject woodworks and textile craft is not the primary object of the study, but is discussed in the text through the “excess information” from the questionnaires. The result regarding the school subject woodworks and textile craft was positive.</p><p>Title: Portfolio as a working tool in school – A study concerning portfolio and the computer programme Portfolio Manager 2</p><p>Level: C</p><p>Writer: Pedagogue Mats Agnarson – Karlstad</p><p>Supervisor: Hugo Wikström, Karin Bengtsson – Karlstads Universitet</p><p>Examinator: Anders Arnqvist – Karlstads Universitet</p>

The thesis focuses on the equity portfolio management with quantitative methods. We present 3 types of optimization objectives: One tries to find minimum variance portfolios, tangency portfolios and portfolios with maximized expected returns in the German stock market. It is possible to compare those investment opportunities with a market-cap weighted benchmark and an equal weighted portfolio. Expected returns of stocks are estimated with fundamental factor models. Risks of portfolios are estimated with 5 types of covariance matrices: the matrix calculated with historical returns, estimations with the single index model, Fama-French three factors model, fundamental factor model and the shrinkage method. Our results are doubled because of the demonstration of the impact of turnover constraint on portfolio performance measures (transaction costs are included in our calculations). One can see that optimized portfolios had attractive risk-return measures in the period 2005 - 2015. Benchmark and equal weighted portfolios were dominated and we consider them to be inefficient investments in our test.

BakgrundI bakgrunden beskrivs erfarenhetsbaserad litteratur från förskolans verksamhet som bygger på erfarenheter och kunskaper om portfolion och dess användning. Inom förskolan kan portfolion vara en pärm som synliggör barnets lärande och utveckling i form av olika alster. Portfoliometodik är ett arbetssätt som handlar om kunskapssyn, barnsyn och förhållningssätt. I arbetet med portfolion observerar och dokumenterar pedagoger barnets lärande och utveckling. Portfoliometodiken utgår även från läroplanen i förskolan och skolan. Barnets portfolio är ett viktigt underlag för att samverkan med föräldrarna och skolan ska fördjupas.SyfteSyftet med studien är att undersöka pedagogers uppfattningar om portfolio och portfoliometodik i förskolans verksamhet. Samt att undersöka svårigheter som kan påverka arbetet med portfolion.MetodUndersökningen är kvalitativ. Verktyget som användes var kvalitativ intervju. Fem intervjuer är genomförda med pedagoger från två olika förskolor från två kommuner i västra Sverige.ResultatResultatet visar på att pedagogers olika synsätt påverkar arbetet med portfolion. Det gäller urvalet av dokumentationer samt portfolions syfte i verksamheten. Det framkommer även att de båda förskolorna har kommit olika långt med sin portfolio. Portfolions dokumentationer kan därför spegla både läroprocesser och utveckling hos barnet eller endast steg i utveckling.<br>Program: Lärarutbildningen

This dissertation deals with the securities portfolio optimization. After introducing the definitions, I try to explain the particular investment instruments with regard to returns and risks. The following part provides a theory which tells more about different market risks and returns on the final securities portfolio. Concerning these models the effective portfolio has been set up.

My composition portfolio consists of the following four works for brass band: Purcell Variations was published in 1995 and was written to mark the tercentenary of the death of Henry Purcell. ... Rejoice, the Lord is King! was commissioned by the International Staff Band for a Gala Concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London ... St. Magnus was commissioned by the European Brass Band Union as their test piece at the Championships held at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow, April 2004 ... The Promised Land - Symphonic Variants for Brass and Percussion was commissioned jointly by SP&S Ltd and the "Buy as you View Band" for use at the European Brass Band Championships to be held in Belfast in April 2006.

I have chosen to be assessed as an interpreter and conductor of New Music for British Brass Band. This critical evaluation represents a summary of my work on the four required projects of the DMA course, in which I hope to demonstrate a high level of creative interpretation. This evaluation will also demonstrate my ability to show original insights into certain musical works and formulate sound critical judgments in order to elicit performances which have been critically acclaimed by my peers within this chosen medium. Project One aims to demonstrate a capacity for producing perceptive and imaginative musical interpretations in preparing and conducting the first commercial recording of brass music of Arthur Butterworth (DOYCD130). As will be argued elsewhere, Butterworth is a nationally recognized figure with a wide range of musical publications, and this recording includes four world premiere recordings of the composer's work and a new commission, Sinfonia Concertante. Project Two is a further CD recording entitled The Brass Music of Michael Ball 1 (DOYCD135). This presents a programme of highly crafted pieces of the composer's wide style and approach. There are five world premiere recordings which offer new insights into the composer's work as well as new interpretations of his work in fine performances. This project also includes an examination of a new work, A Cambrian Suite, jointly commissioned by the Black Dyke Band and the Brass Band Heritage Trust, first performed at the Royal Concert Hall at the RNCM on the 18th February as part of the Festival of Brass 2002. Project Three consists of two live recordings, produced digitally, and stored on single Compact Discs. The two works Sinfonia Concertante Arthur Butterworth and Atlantic Philip Wilby were premiered respectively at the Harrogate International Music Festival, July 28 th 2001 and The Festival of Brass January 18th 2002. Both these composers enjoy high status as nationally recognised composers, and their premiere performances offer significant first insights into the works in question. I would argue that this demonstrates a capacity for eliciting imaginative musical interpretations from a highly talented group of musicians. During my DMA registration I have performed ten world premieres: Masque, Danceries, and Alchymist's Journal by Kenneth Hesketh., Sinfonia Concertante Opus 111 by Arthur Butterworth, Atlantic and Concerto 1945 by Philip Wilby, Call of the Cossacks by Peter Graham, The Sword and the Crown by Edward Gregson, A Cambrian Suite by Michael Ball and Trombone Concerto by Martin Ellerby. This range of performances displays my commitment to developing the repertoire of the Brass Band Movement. I have also undertaken eight studio recording projects, The Eternal Quest QPRL 21 ID, The Essential Dyke Vol. Ill DOYCD121, Spectacular Classics Vol. IIOBR876, The Music of Arthur Butterworth DOYCD130, The Music of Michael Ball DOYCD135, Black Dyke Plays Verdi OBR883, The Heaton Collection SP&S100, Call of the Cossacks DOYCDI38. These projects represent an endeavour to unveil and demonstrate the level of expertise and flexibility available in the current British Brass Band movement, which draws its influences from sources as diverse as Classical, Contemporary, Popular, and World Musics. Project Four A public performance will be given by the Black Dyke Band conducted by myself as part of the National Brass Band Championship of Great Britain, in the Royal Albert Hall on 19 th October 2002. This will give the examiners the opportunity to judge my abilities for themselves.

This submission takes the form of six original musical compositions along with critical analyses. (NB in accordance with convention all references to notes and examples within the text are given in concert pitch.) The first composition, 'Lonely Isle' is written for brass band and is one movement with two contrasting sections. The music is broadly tonal throughout and the key signatures of B b major and then C minor are employed for the two sections. 'Fantasy No. 1 for Trombone' is written for solo trombone with piano accompaniment. This was written with for Brett Baker as a potential repertoire piece. The piece has one movement with three contrasting sections. The first, Allegro Scherzando, uses Lydian mode, then Andante in Dm and finally Vivace in C minor. 'At The Gates To Oblivion'was inspired by a series of role-playing video games for PC and X Box called 'The Elder Scrolls', most specifically by the game 'The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion' (Bethesda Softworks, 2006). It was originally written for brass band and was later transcribed for wind band. It is in an open key and has three movements. 'Falling Red Leaves of Autumn' is a three-movement piece for euphonium, vibraphone and piano. The titles of the three movements together form a haiku and the piece is composed using pentatonic scales, the first two movements major, and the third minor.'The Sun God, Ra\ is composed for brass band and is also in one freeform movement. It is a piece of programme music inspired by ancient Egyptian mythology. Village Green Dances' is written with the idea of a brass band playing at a traditional fete or country setting and takes as it's starting point the kind of music typically performed at such events. It is written for brass band and is a suite of three pieces, an opening fanfare, a lyrical waltz and a slightly confused march. The sound files for each of these pieces can be found at the following locations: Lonely Isle http://dl.dropbox.eom/u/25045136/LI.mp3 Fantasy No.1 for Trombone http://dl.dropbox.eom/u/25045136/TROMB.mp3 At the Gates to Oblivion http://dl.dropbox.eom/u/25045136/OBLIV.mp3 Falling Red Leaves of Autumn http://dl.dropbox.eom/u/25045136/FRL.mp3 The Sun God, Ra http://dl.dropbox.eom/u/25045136/Ra.mp3 Village Green Dances No.1 http://dl.dropbox.eom/u/25045136A/G1.mp3 No.2 http://dl.dropbox.eom/u/25045136A/G2.mp3 No.3 http://dl.dropbox.eom/u/25045136A/G3.mp3

The music performance-based research delivered within this portfolio has been realised within my current role as Bandmaster of Enfield Citadel Band of The Salvation Army. The overall thrust of this research has been focused on, and driven by my desire for the revitalisation within the functionality and relevance of Salvation Army band music. Revitalisation is achieved through studying historic works written by composers such as Elgar Howarth, Leslie Condon and Ray Steadman-Allen. All three composers in their time showed innovation in utilising contemporary composition techniques within their music. The presentation of significant historic works with innovative premieres incorporating the unique and precedent-setting use of media, collaborations and mainstream twentieth century compositional techniques allow me to place this research in a context of revitalising the functionality and relevance of Salvation Army band music. Embodied within this portfolio will be found materials, resources and written critical commentary of over 20000 words relating to the work I have completed towards a Doctor of Philosophy in Performance, at the University of Salford. Five significant projects are presented here and, in each, my practice has sought to address a particular, over-arching research question: can a conductor and Salvation Army Bandmaster manage the balance of artistic excellence and innovation whilst adhering to religious form in performance? This work will have a wider impact and will be of relevance to a conductor of a musical group, which has a fundamental reason over and above musical artistry for its existence for instance Church musicians and Military musicians. Can they achieve artistic excellence and innovation as well as conforming to their vernacular, ecclesiastical or ceremonial expectations? This calls into discussion the functionality of Salvation Army brass band music and its current relevance within the Salvation Army services and to wider audiences. Through various conducting and recording opportunities undertaken during this course of study, I have examined the way in which my leadership has impacted on collaborating composers, audiences, performers, soloists and the ministry and relevance of Enfield Citadel Band’s work within both Worship and concert settings. Research arising from my visits to personal libraries and archives have allowed me to chart the historical development of the established Salvation Army band. I have consistently stressed the conflict, which I have to overcome within this research, which centres around balancing the dichotomy of artistic merit whilst conforming to a required religious form and the practises and functionality of Salvation Army music. This work examines historical repertoire that has been represented either in live performance or recording by the Enfield Citadel Salvation Army band along with newly commissioned and previously unrecorded compositions by leading contemporary composers for both Salvation Army and contesting bands such as Dorothy Gates, Roger Trigg and Elgar Howarth.

What are the next steps to continue the growth and appreciation of the euphonium as a solo instrument? The instrument now occupies a prestigious role in the brass band and its influence in the wind band continues to rise. Yet, in the orchestral realm, it continues to not gain traction. This DMA portfolio contains some of the most substantial works and projects that aim to propel the euphonium into the coveted orchestral sphere. By elevating the instrument to the solo role with the symphony orchestra, the euphonium gains credibility and greater respect in a new area of performance. The orchestral realm has remained mostly untouched for the euphonium save a few choice moments in The Planets by Gustav Holst and Don Quixote and Ein Heldenleben by Richard Strauss. The history of the instrument and its limited repertoire provide an insight into why the projects contained in this portfolio represent groundbreaking endeavors. There is an undeniably strong dedication to expanding the role of the euphonium as a viable solo instrument with symphony orchestra. In this path, I produced two commercially available recordings that feature a world class orchestra, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, with a repertoire encompassing wonderful transcriptions, primarily made by the writer and major new commissions. Another priority of substantiating the euphonium as a soloist involves presenting the instrument in a variety of settings and repertoire. This has been accomplished by placing the commercial recordings on different labels, Naxos and MSR Classics, as well as presenting a wide range of repertoire. Featuring all original compositions for the instrument connects with one area of listeners with the Majestic Journey recording while an array of instrumental transcriptions yields inroads with another portion of audiences on the Taking Flight recording. I commissioned two new concerti by Allen Feinstein and Tim Jansa. Both are written in a strong tonal language with great programmatic features to further add notoriety. The final project, The Operatic Euphonium, includes a variety of vocal and operatic transcriptions to share the voice of the euphonium with another audience segment. The euphonium now has the opportunity to be experienced and shared with many different avenues within the classical music genre. The primary objective of these projects is to not only promote the euphonium, but also to serve as reference materials for future students and as a guide to help create more opportunities for the instrument. This will be accomplished by the creation of reference recordings, arrangements for euphonium and orchestra, and piano reductions of these works.

The works in this portfolio of original compositions cover a wide spectrum of genres, styles, approaches, and musical techniques. The aim was to demonstrate mastery of the various musical languages and techniques characteristic of each genre. The calculatedly low-fi 'alt.rock meets computer games' approach of the concept album They No Longer Sleep Alone is of folk-like simplicity, deliberately eschewing the various polishing processes available to producers now in the digital mastering situation. The intention was to preserve a naturalness of sound and song making. On the other hand, live electronic effects are utilized to expand the sonorities and textures obtained from a solo bassoon in The Effect of Bundled Sticks on Sounds. Today is the Tomorrow takes this idea further, being a completely electronic work mixing live musical performance (turntables) with pre-recorded sounds, these interacting with live video and prepared animation. De Feo, inspired by graffiti artists, was written for a virtuoso pair of performers in the unusual combination of alto saxophone and viola, with no electronics being required. The Big Fat Jazz Bastard Theme Song and Espacio were written for particular performers and approaches to music making, while Saturday Afternoon and Late Night Specials are film scores. Swamp Treasures and Bungamucka - the Alarmist were commissioned for theatrical productions and thus were designed to fulfil specific functions determined by the stage directors. By way of contrast, ...seconds unwind...generated noise...racecar... is an abstract work that utilizes the sophistication and subtleties of timbre, rhythm and texture available from a professional chamber orchestra.

I have enjoyed this year, writing pieces that are special to me because they relate to experiences during 2008. I've written for orchestra, choir and an ensemble of xylophones and saxophone. Each piece has extended my skills and creativity in different ways from previous compositions. Prelude to the Unspoken This work is for symphony orchestra. Last year, it was rehearsed and recorded by the NZSO as part of the NZSO/Todd Young Composers Awards 2008. The pieces were recorded in the Michael Fowler Centre and conducted by Hamish McKeich. It was exciting to hear the piece come alive and watch the orchestra rehearse. Now I have heard the recording in a calmer state and know what it actually sounds like, I have been able to evaluate some decisions and whether or not they worked. As long as I have played instruments, I have played in orchestras. I can draw on these experiences when composing because as a clarinettist, you sit in the middle of the orchestra, and can hear the different sections playing and how their parts/notes relate to the rest of the orchestra. As a percussionist, hearing the orchestra from the back (when counting rests!) also reveals a different point of view. This year I chose to compose a slower, more contemplative piece. Last year, my compositions were dense and busy, so writing this piece required me to use space and texture in new ways. The title Prelude to the Unspoken alludes to something being stated but stopping before anything is revealed. A Schulwerk Orffering I was inspired to compose for the forces used in this piece because of an Orff- Schulwerk teacher training course I attended in 2008. As part of the Masters of Music degree, I completed a Level 1 workshop and on-line component - Orff Music Education-Theory and Practice 1, and more recently, completed the Level 2 workshop. Orff-Schulwerk education is a holistic, hands-on approach that explores music physically and through different instruments such as body percussion and approachable instruments (for children) such as recorders, mallet instruments and small percussion. One activity during the course was playing a tune from the Orff-Schulwerk volumes, where everyone was playing a mallet instrument - xylophone, marimba, glockenspiel, from soprano to bass, while the teacher improvised a tune on the recorder, over the top of this moving carpet of sound we were making with our ostinatos and drones. This was just like being in the middle of the orchestra. While playing my ostinato, I was in the centre of all of this sound, hearing how each simple ostinato made an interesting accompaniment. I was also influenced by Philip GIass' Fascades, where the cross rhythms of the accompaniment create a carpet of sound, while the simple saxophone melody floats over top. I wanted to create something similar with tenor saxophone and the educational xylophones. I chose to write for two alto and two bass xylophones (small, educational instruments with no chromatic notes). These instruments were available at the course and I was able to have these with me while I composed. Because I do not usually play a mallet instrument, I composed ostinatos that I was able to play. All the techniques are those explored in Orff-Schulwerk - ostinato, drone, sound carpet, imitation. The saxophone sits quite high in the first movement, holding long notes, while in the second movement, the saxophone is active with a wide range of notes. I recently had an item about this piece in the Orff New Zealand Aotearoa newsletter 'Sounding Orff'. I hope to get a recording/performance of this piece from a response to the newsletter. Missa Brevis I sing in the Hamilton Civic Choir and have sung many Masses so was interested in writing a Missa Brevis. The movements Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei are for SATB with some movements scored for divisi voices. The style of this piece is approachable for many choirs because of traditional harmonic and musical organisation, while including modern arrangements of the text and approach to the music. Some choir members queried the fact that sometimes their part does not say a whole word, for example, just singing 'Dom', not 'Domine'. The words were deliberately set like this because when using block writing, as opposed to polyphony, I felt the extra syllables would change the desired musical and rhythmic texture. I wrote this piece with the Hamilton Civic Choir in mind because I know their capabilities. For example, I know the second basses can reach a low D. For the very low notes, I've added an octave option for the first basses or all basses if another choir cannot reach them. This recording by members of the choir was not up to the choir's usual standard because of time restrictions. The piano is used in my recording but is for rehearsal use only. The Gloria will be performed in the Choir's first 2009 concert in March.

Composition is a process of applied research. In a portfolio of eight original pieces, the technical and aesthetic components of this process are investigated from the perspective of several theoretical precepts which both inform and underpin its creative strategy. Drawing on theories of intertextuality, composition is collocated within a broad current of thought in which ideas and material from pre-existing ‘texts’ across a variety of disciplines are utilised and explored to create new compositional ‘texts’. This procedure is tested from several, key perspectives, characterised variously as: (i) problem-seeking, (ii) serendipitous, (iii) transgressive, and (iv) transcriptive. The first of these draws on John Dewey’s notions of art as a form of creative problematisation. In the second, techniques are developed in which performance flexibility is balanced against structural exactitude, aided by a series of parametric tables that outline a range of variables across the different elements of musical sound. As a transgressive process, compositional procedure is informed by Viktor Shklovsky’s theory of aesthetic defamiliarisation. Finally, as a form of transcription, the research draws on Ferruccio Busoni’s observations about notation and its key transmutational role in manipulating and recasting musical ideas. By adopting an eclectic attitude towards materials and techniques, a compositional strategy is formulated which offers an alternative to the assumption that advancement in the field is inevitably shaped by an ineluctable, dialectical process. A polyvalent approach and direct interaction with materials, it is argued, are the important creative ingredients which present valuable and meaningful developments in compositional language, form and technique.

The enclosed thesis consists of three components. The first is comprised of a portfolio of seven original compositions: THREE, 3 Fragments, Music for Flute and . Percussion Trio, Sixty-three, SJU, 3 Polish Songs, and Softly at Night the Stars are Shining. The second component is a music CD containing live recordings of all compositions, as well as supplementary recordings. A prose commentary, detailing all compositions in the portfolio, constitutes the final element in the thesis. The composition portfolio is written for acoustic instruments, as well as voice, and utilizes ensembles ranging from small chamber groups to full symphony orchestra. My main research goal was to establish quarter tones as a core part of my musical language, equal in status to standard pitches. Instrumental timbre and the formal architecture of music are also key elements investigated in my pursuit of a new compositional language.

This thesis analyses a number of projects which represent an attempt to forge a coherent compositional language. Structurally, it delineates the contrasting, sometimes opposing elements of two distinct areas of exploration: the search tor greater accessibility in contemporary music, which focuses primarily (though not exclusively) on community endeavours; and the possibilities and results which spring from opportunities to work with professional musicians, where few stylistic or performance constraints occur.

Enrolling in Masters in a natural progression for me as a composer. This follows directly on from my other tertiary study: First Class Honours Degree in Composition from University of Canterbury; Diploma in Jazz from CPIT Jazz School majoring in Composition and Arranging. My body of work includes compositions for the Silencio Ensemble, a ten piece new-music ensemble, which I was the co-founder and musical director/conductor of ('05-'09). I have received several grants from Creative New Zealand including grants in 2008 and 2013 for 'Still Standing Silent' a work composed for mixed discipline ensemble (classical and jazz) and contemporary dancers. This work premiered in Christchurch in November 2009. In 2010, I received funding to work with well-known Sydney chamber ensemble 'The Song Company' utilizing a text by a fellow Dutch New Zealander, Riemke Ensing. Recent creative projects have included performances of Still Standing Silent for the Body Festival; a commission for The Christchurch Youth Orchestra; and Totally Weill for the Christchurch Arts Festival. At this time the proposed works in my master’s portfolio would include: • Violin Duo • A large Song Cycle (50mins approx.) for singer and chamber ensemble • A short orchestral work • Another piece - otherwise yet to be determined I would like to continue to compose in my unique aesthetic of jazz-like timbres and freely-atonal harmonies. In recent years, I have realised how in my work I have often been dealing with the effects of time on music. I often juxtapose freedom and structure, starkness with flowing sounds in an attempt to break free from the constraints of time. I would like to further research this idea and come to a new place/idea around time and music. Another feature of my work is that I have enjoyed collaborating with specific musicians and composition–specific ensembles. This has resulted in some highly successful works and excellent learning experiences for me as a composer and musician. I plan to continue to develop this aspect of my practice during my master’s year. Recently I have had the opportunity to explore working with text and as a result have developed a special and unique relationship with poet Riemke Ensing. As a result of the artistic rapport we share and the highly enjoyable experience I had of setting her work for The Song Company, one of the major works I will submit this year will be a song cycle based on her collection of poems, Storm Warning. My core reason for being a composer is the hope or belief that music can raise the consciousness of humanity to a higher plain. In recent years I have begun to doubt this and question the point of ‘being’ a composer as distinct from working as a composer. This philosophy is something I would like to further explore both conceptually and in the work that I will submit in my portfolio this year. I have been awarded a UC master’s scholarship for my study during 2014 for which I am extremely grateful.

<i>Makkha: </i>Orchestra and dancer. <i>Dukkha I-IV</i>: Double bass and string quartet. <i>Inside and Outside: </i>Horn and piano. <i>Prayers’ Cave</i>: Viola solo, viola ensemble and piano; Viola solo, two violins and piano. <i>Voiceless sketches I, II, III, IV, VI</i>: 1^st version for flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, piano and percussion; 2^nd version for flute, string quartet and piano. <i>Phra Lo (Voiceless sketches V)</i>: Music with poems for two dancers, human voices and chamber orchestra. <i>Music in the community works</i>: Community pieces involving creative composition and video.

This DMA portfolio contains materials and a written critical commentary relating to the work I have completed towards a Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance degree at the University of Salford. My doctoral programme consists of four performance-based projects and some public performances: 1. CD recording: Chinese traditional piano music (recorded in Salford); 2. Public piano recital in Peel Hall, University of Salford; 3. Lecture at the University of Salford; 4. Cross-disciplinary concert performance and recording (Wuhan); 5. Public concert performances; 6. Supporting material. The portfolio itself contains the following: • A written commentary explaining the history and significance of Chinese traditional piano music, and the background about the projects that I undertook for the doctoral programme. • Video and Audio recordings of public performances and concerts, early recordings • Concert and recital programmes of public performances • News and interviews of the public performances • The published Articles and reviews published in newspapers, journals and online • Magazines and news of interviews, documentary • Awards • Supporting material showing my professional standing and significant past and current activity as an internationally recognised concert pianist and educator with a specialist interest in bridging Eastern and Western cultures. The portfolio illustrates various roles in which I have been an ambassador for Chinese traditional piano music, which I explore and develop in the context of western society. I have been involved on a number of levels, from soloist performer, recording artist and collaborator with other artists in different fields, researcher and author, through to devising and writing concert programme notes and producing recital and concerts. It is in these ways that the work captured in this portfolio represents a significant addition to existing knowledge, commensurate with the Doctor of Musical Arts awards.

This is a portfolio of ten compositions composed at the Electroacoustic Music Studios at the University of Birmingham, Audio Research Lab at the Birmingham City University and my home studio during the period October 2007 – September 2010. The commentary comprises a set of philosophical considerations about my compositions and intent for creation. Further chapters are dedicated to compositional techniques, related traditions and piece specific documentation. A recent CD release from ‘diobel kiado’ publishing house is attached which contains two of the presented compositions. The rest of the presented compositions are to be found on the attached DVD, along with a range of programs coded to support composition is briefly discussed in the Appendix. All the expressed views are personal convictions; my music serves no other purpose than to reflect onto one observing it. The attached software is free to use and distribute provided it is appropriately referenced.

This portfolio includes four electronic pieces as well as three works especially devised for dance and theatre. The electronic music compositions Plastiches, Clangor, Showtime! and Ciguri investigate different approaches to the use of space and temporal structures. The works Dance studies Nos. 1 &2 were created as collaborations with choreographers and explore aspects of the relationship between music and contemporary dance. The large-scale dance-theatre work To have done with the judgment ofArtaud explores different aspects of experimental music and contemporary dance and is related to the later works of Antonin Artaud.

This DMA portfolio contains materials and a written critical commentary relating to the work I have completed towards a Doctor of Musical Arts in Performance degree at the University of Salford. The concept behind this study is born of a concern that the euphonium can be seen as culturally ‘standing still’, an instrument featured within traditional band concerts, with an important historical yet limited repertoire, and one that has successfully carved only a few further artistic outlets. Often new solo works can be heavily influenced by the tradition of the virtuoso euphonium soloist, sometimes using identical templates and compositional forms of popular works from the past. This research is an exploration of how the euphonium as a solo instrument can be presented in new and varied musical environments, moving it away from the shackles of tradition and towards a broader musical plane. I also hope this approach can potentially create more varied performance opportunities which attract a wider range of listeners. The work explores repertoire that is innovative within the euphonium’s natural musical habitats, as well as repertoire that frames the instrument in surroundings it is rarely associated with. This is presented through commissions, adaptations of existing repertoire, premières and commercial recordings. The work also endeavours to ensure that the new repertoire output is widely available and accessible for euphonium players worldwide by working with a music publisher with international reputation, marketing and distribution facilities. This submission adds significant new works to the substantially limited solo repertoire of the euphonium and explores new areas of artistic output, which I hope other performers and composers will be able develop after this study period is over.

What is the portfolio and what are its purposes? I must define the portfolio as a summative document bearing the valuable experiences learned in a particular course of study. In this context, portfolio can be viewed as a selective entity that represents the level of learning, in terms of academic/professional growth and development, attained in one's participation in a particular course of study such as this Master one I have been attending. Portfolio can be educationally utilized to reflect and evaluate one's learning. As one goes throughout paging, one locates the level of learning achieved in terms of anticipated knowledge, understanding, and experiences, skills and attitudes or overly learning competencies. The level of development one has gone through in attempts to respond to the expected learning outcomes surface out more easily. And if further learning be conducted, the portfolio must as well shows the ways ahead. With these few words, I have attempted to present the portfolio as a useful tool that represents the level of advancement attained in learning. This portfolio comprises of my educational partaking in Rhodes University's master program (theory and practice, in particular what and how I have gained from that program participation. It may also present what I cold not learn. The arrangement of the portfolio contents assumes a progressive procession, being structured in terms of the assignments taken. There are five pieces of assignments in this research portfolio. The first assignment is a contextual analysis of the Education Theory and Practice (ETP) curriculum of our current teacher education program, namely Basic Education Teachers' Diploma. It looks at the theoretical framework that informs and shapes everyday teaching and learning practices, particularly the degree to which we have been able to implement the theoretical perspectives into operational practices. To this is how our college is equipped with the technologies necessary for possible practices of the curriculum. The other emphasis focuses at the historical backgrounds that necessitated the undertaking of the BETD as an instrument of reforming and transforming the basic education rightly at the independence. The other area is on the question of how the curriculum or program intakers, the entering students, have been prepared to consume the curriculum program. Since the program has been as well designed to address and meet the four major national goals of education for all, another part has been focused on these goals so far as to locate the degree of attainment. The second assignment is about contrasting and comparing the two main held dominant worldwide views of knowledge- namely behaviorism and constructivism. Each branch of knowledge is looked at firstly with particular attentions paid to its own individual versions of knowledge and its development and acquisition. The other focuses examine which base seems to offer better explanations of what knowledge is and how it can best be constructed and acquired in any educational setting. The third assignment is that of literature review. I have chosen action as an area that I would be interested in exploring much further. Action research is what eventually became a part of my research proposal in which I would research on how our college students carry out their action research projects to examine their own classroom makings. It has been therefore important to read what others have written about this field and locate the lessons that can be illuminated on our own curriculum context. The literature review paves the way to the research proposal. The research proposal or a research plan as I would often call it, sets the context, purpose, theoretical position and information gathering methods under which the research process will take place. The research proposal has thus been the navigating compass despite the that realities as the practical journey itself took off some deviation unavoidably came in as necessitated by the underlying research process itself. The research proposal finally accumulates into the sought, the final assignment. A critical view illustrates that this piece is actually another contextual inquiry like the first work only that this is viewing our supposed curriculum outcomes: our students, our products and how they have been equipped to carry out the research. Their research, with its successes and shortcomings, I have concluded, firmly serves to reflect the kind of education delivered from our teacher colleges. The portfolio contents also demonstrate the course orientation: focusing on one's professional field. At end, I see this research portfolio as myself, a mirror that reflects my academic and professional participation in Rhodes University's world and its vision and mission expresses in the theme of where leaders learn. It thus represents the personal, academic and development accomplished throughout this Masters' course. In the other way around, I see it as reflecting what Rhodes can offer as from when the prestigious Augustana College, my American institution, has prepared after its boundaries.

The purpose of this study is to look at English Second Language IGCSE Core Curriculum for Grades 11 and 12. The criteria that has been identified and selected for analysis as stipulated by the Ministry of Basic Education and Culture Language policy Document of 1996 reads as follows: The aim of teaching English as a language should be to enable the learners to increase their participation in the learning processes. This aim was selected as the criteria for investigation because the notion of active participation by the learners in the teaching and learning process places the learners in a different perspective. In other words, the learners are to be seen as possessors of knowledge rather than ‘empty vessels’ as depicted by the behaviourist approach (Van Harmelen 1999). This idea of a learner-centred approach as embedded in Social Constructivism approach is the foundation on which the Namibian Education Reform Process is based. The justification for selecting these particular criteria for close inspection in the English Second Language Curriculum was sparked by the professional attachment of the researcher into teaching English Second Language to Grades 11 and 12 at the Herman Gmeiner Technical School in Swakopmund. The researcher is also serving as a subject head for this particular discipline. Furthermore, evaluating and analyzing the English Second Language curriculum on this particular objective, the researcher hopes to uncover or come to an understanding of how our educational practices have moved from what was practiced under the behavioural approach and to discover the needs of teachers in terms of implementing the new curriculum in their daily practices as educators. Having the criteria stated, the study will focus on how the data was collected and the type of methodology used to gather this information.

This portfolio of work represents three research projects on issues related to teacher education. The research was undertaken at Dr. W.B. Rubusana College of Education over a period of three years. The first project is a situational analysis that attempts to determine whether the college is capable of meeting the challenges placed on it by the evolving South African Educational System. The key finding is that the college is not ready to embark on the changes required by the Ministry of Education chiefly because its educators and learners are seemingly not ready to embrace change. The second project is a case study that attempts to determine whether a group of 12 Senior Primary students at the college are able to interpret photographs of the local environment and as such provide evidence of their ability to be environmental educators through the medium of geography. The findings indicate that they are only able to read the photographs at a very superficial level. Their poor communication skills and their disadvantaged backgrounds seem to prevent them from achieving the level of thinking required for them to be effective environmental educators. The third project describes, analyses and evaluates a fieldwork study done with a class of Senior Primary students at the college. While the students did not achieve the necessary progression from 'look and see' to 'enquiry based' fieldwork the project was valuable in that it was an educative experience for both teacher and learner and provides evidence of the value of action research and reflective teaching.

This study is a contextual analysis and evaluation of the Arts-in-Culture curriculum at Ongwediva College of Education. Arts-in-Culture is one of the core subjects in the Basic Education Teacher Diploma (BETD)’s Broad Curriculum. At colleges such as Ongwediva, Caprivi and Rundu, student teachers study Arts as a core subject, while at Windhoek College of Education it can be studied as either a major or a core subject. In this study, I have raised some questions: Why is it that at Ongwediva College, the status of Arts-in-Culture is still low in comparison to other curriculum subjects like sciences and languages? Do student teachers and teacher educators fully understand how to assess the subject? Is the syllabus open for everyone? Is the learning environment conducive to offering the subject? Do the syllabus; learning environment, teacher educators and student teachers promote the goals of education for all? This study first gives the historical background of the subject. The background is of a diverse nature, namely African Indigenous Arts education, Black Arts education under the missionaries, Black Arts education under the South Africa Regime and Arts Education in the current Namibian reform dispensation. Second, the data collecting methodologies of this study are discussed. This includes how I collected information, who I contacted to collect this information, the tools I used to collect data, when and where I used them, why they were used and how they were used, the difficulties or problems I encountered and what I have learned about myself during the process. The third part of this study is the analysis of my findings from the participants interviewed and the fourth is how I have tried to link these different sections together. The last part of the paper is my conclusion.

Paper 1. The purpose of this analysis is to critically evaluate the Lower Primary Mathematics programme within the context of the Namibian educational reform, against the backdrop of learner-centred education from within the Constructivist epistemology. Through the analysis of a small-scale survey, I will try to determine the extent to which learners, teachers and other educationalists, involved in the Lower Primary school phase, understand the new approach to Mathematics and their pedagogical and theoretical insight into the new programme. I will also analyse the syllabus documents in view of the educational policies and further discuss the social, historical and economic background to the reform. I will then analyse the progress or development of the reform process through discussing the learning environment as well as the learners who are the central participants in education. Paper 2.This critical discussion aims to explore the prospects and underlying principles of the epistemologies of two opposing paradigms of education: Behaviourism and Constructivism. I have critically examined and compared the theoretical aspects that shape and inform the model of instruction and the systemic implications of the learning process. The purpose was to compare both learning theories and to draw a conclusion of which the better epistemology is for the teaching and learning process. Paper 3. This is an investigation into the theories that underpin and inform mathematics teaching in the Lower Primary phase of the primary school in Namibia. The Namibian society requires the development of knowledge and understanding, skills and competencies, attitudes and values, which everyone must have to be able to function adequately in society on a social, economic and political level (MBESC 1996). We need to seek ways of enhancing mathematics teaching in Namibia if we want to live up to the expectations of our society. Paper 4. Mathematicians and researchers across the globe have theorised and speculated about education reform movements, which aim for more than just structural knowledge where it concerns Mathematics. This action research study is based on the findings of a pilot study about 'Problem-based Learning', using this as a basis to investigate the relationship between the intentions of the Lower Primary Mathematics curriculum and its implementation at classroom level. This paper reports on a case study of two grade one teachers' perceptions of problem solving as a key component of Mathematics learning and how the implementation of the problem-based approach could be supported through intervention. Data was gathered from a series of cycles of planning, acting, observing and reflecting. Analysis of the data indicates that teachers' professional development lies within a willingness to change and in reflexive practice. Given focused support to teachers could result in the application of contemporary approaches to Mathematics teaching, with an overall improvement of constructivist-oriented learner-centred education.