Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Australia – Social policy – Case studies'
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Neylan, Julian School of History & Philosophy of Science UNSW. "The sociology of numbers: statistics and social policy in Australia." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of History and Philosophy of Science, 2005. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/31963.
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This dissertation presents an historical-sociological study of how governments of the modern western state use the language and techniques of quantification in the domain of social policy. The case material has an Australian focus. The thesis argues that by relying on techniques of quantification, governments risk introducing a false legitimacy to their social policy decisions. The thesis takes observed historical phenomena, language and techniques of quantification for signifying the social, and seeks meaningful interpretations in light of the culturally embedded actions of individuals and collective members of Australian bureaucracies. These interpretations are framed by the arguments of a range of scholars on the sociology of mathematics and quantitative technologies. The interpretative framework is in turn grounded in the history and sociology of modernity since the Enlightenment period, with a particular focus on three aspects: the nature and purpose of the administrative bureaucracy, the role of positivism in shaping scientific inquiry and the emergence of a risk consciousness in the late twentieth century. The thesis claim is examined across three case studies, each representative of Australian government action in formulating social policy or providing human services. Key social entities examined include the national census of population, housing needs indicators, welfare program performance and social capital. The analysis of these social statistics reveals a set of recurring characteristics that are shown to reduce their certainty. The analysis provides evidence for a common set of institutional attitudes toward social numbers, essentially that quantification is an objective technical device capable of reducing unstable social entities to stable, reliable significations (numbers). While this appears to strengthen the apparatus of governmentality for developing and implementing state policy, ignoring the many unarticulated and arbitrary judgments that are embedded in social numbers introduces a false legitimacy to these government actions.
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Dennis, Simone J. "Sensual extensions : joy, pain and music-making in a police band." Title page, contents and abstract only, 2002. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phd4115.pdf.
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Bibliography: leaves 210-226. Based on 18 months ethnographic fieldwork about the ways in which members of the South Australian Police Band make music. Studies their disconnection from the body of the community, acheived via an embodiment of emotional disconnection; the power of the Department to appropriate a particular order of emotion for the purposes of power; and, the misrecognition of the appropriation of emotion by members of the public who are open to the Department's emotional domination. The context material describes the reasons for the existence of the police band in the police view, while the core material of the thesis is concerned with describing what it is that police band members do, and what they do most of all is, in their own words, experience something that they call "the feel".
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Oerlemans-Buma, Ingeborg Karin. "Secondary school students engagement in educational change : critical perspectives on policy enactment." University of Western Australia. Graduate School of Education, 2005. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2005.0076.
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Michael Fullan (1991) commented that little was known about how students viewed educational change, as no one had thought to ask them. By 2004 there was a small but growing literature seeking the views of students on a range of issues associated with schooling. This thesis presents the findings and analysis of a study of students’ perceptions of educational change. Much educational change involves shifts in power and responsibilities between the different actors, such as governments, school administrators, teachers, parents, the community and students. Despite widespread interest in educational change it is usually the macro-level policy elite who exert the most influence, using their power, privilege and status in order to propagate particular versions of schooling; students continue to be the ‘objects’ of policy initiatives, submerged in what Freire referred to as a ‘culture of silence’. Students are frequently excluded as participants in both the process and decision making phases of change. This research was based on exploring the exclusion of students from the processes of change in schools, resulting from a top-down policy initiative by the State department of education in WA, the Local Area Education Planning (LAEP) Framework. How policy is defined and acted on is explored, and the roles students could have, but often do not, are highlighted. An eclectic hybrid conceptual framework drawing on both critical theory and a postmodern policy cycle approach was used to analyse the LAEP Framework policy processes and students’ perceptions of the changes that ensued. The research comprised in-depth case studies of three schools undergoing substantial educational restructuring as the result of the macro-level LAEP Framework policy in the State of WA. Key elements of the policy were school amalgamations, closures and the creation of Middle Schools. Data collection methods included focus group and semi-structured interviews with students from the three schools, as well as document analysis, staff interviews and field notes. The research found that students were very perceptive about educational change, that they were deeply impacted by educational change and that they wanted to participate in restructuring agendas. Several meta-level themes emerged from the students’ ‘voices’, including issues associated with disempowerment, and competing social justice and economic discourses. The findings foreground the often messy and contradictory tensions evident in policy processes. The thesis concluded by developing theory on ways in which students could be included meaningfully as participants in educational change
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Aryo, Bagus. "Comparative social policy : case studies of Indonesia and Japan /." [St. Lucia, Qld.], 2003. http://www.library.uq.edu.au/pdfserve.php?image=thesisabs/absthe16961.pdf.
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Haworth, Katherine. "Incorporating Climate Change in Southern African Social Policy: A Malawian Case Study." Master's thesis, Faculty of Humanities, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/32721.
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This thesis examines the inclusion of climate change in Malawian social policy, and the discourse and government documents surrounding it. In Malawi, social protection predates climate change policies – in both policy in practice – however, they have risen up the Governments agenda at the same time. This is unsurprising given the severity and frequency with which the country is impacted by climatic shocks. Moreover, vulnerability and instability in the country leave Malawian disproportionately susceptible to the impact of natural disasters and environmental irregularities. In the wake of a natural disaster, most commonly drought and flooding, there is a significant spike in mentions of both climate change and social protection in Parliamentary discourse. Similarly, Government documents exhibit a wellestablished connection between these two – mention of disaster risk reduction is frequently coupled with a call for social protection to minimize the effects of natural disasters. In many ways, the most recent and current social protection policy is the logical evolution of this. In 2018, the Government of Malawi released the Malawi National Social Support Programme II (MNSSP II) which focused significantly on shock-sensitive social protection to address and minimize the impact of climate change in the country. Previous social protection initiatives in the country have garnered very little political support, and the Government has exhibited a hesitation to provide financial and technical support to these programs.
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Lessa, Iara. "Restaging the welfare diva, case studies of single motherhood and social policy." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape10/PQDD_0006/NQ40327.pdf.
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Summers, Michael. "Great expectations : a policy case study of four case management programs in one organisation /." Connect to thesis, 2007. http://repository.unimelb.edu.au/10187/2182.
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Four different case management programs delivered by UnitingCare Community Options (UCCO) in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne were examined against the expectations of case management as a policy solution to a range of perceived policy problems at the micro-, meso- and macro-levels. The micro-level expectations were related to client and family experiences of the service system and outcomes. At the meso-level expectations were focused on perceived service delivery problems such as poor matching of services to the needs of ‘complex’ clients including a lack of integration, flexibility and responsiveness to clients’ needs and preferences. Perceived macro-level policy problems were concerned with a variety of issues including increasing rates of institutionalisation, increasing costs to governments, lack of economic efficiency and the desire to create market or quasi-market conditions in the community care service delivery sector. (For complete abstract open document)
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Al-Ameri, Ali Saeed Omar. "Cultural relativism : case studies of public relations in the Emirates, 1994-1996." Thesis, University of Hull, 1999. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:12351.
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This research investigates the impact of oil on a traditional Arab society. The . literature which addresses societal change IS methodically reviewed, with substantial attention given to the theories of noted sociologist Max Weber as well as many more recent scholars who have adapted and re-interpreted Weber's seminal insights. Following the review of relevant literature, the reader is introduced to the pre-oil, traditional society of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The body of the research reports, illuminates and examines through case studies the challenges of wrenching social change in a traditional society. The research finds that introduction of oil is the change agent. The invitation extended to Western oil companies to manage the extraction industry resulted in enormous disruption to the society as it then existed, and provided very large sums of capital to the UAE. Both of these factors, the insertion within the society of a western industrial culture of size and importance, and the opportunities for the UAE to develop and modernize at great speed due to the availability of large resources, combined to place enormous tension on the social traditions and practices of the then tribal society. The research then turns to the ways and means that both the society and the western oil companies employed to manage the dynamic of change. The specific role of the Oil Company's Public Relations function is examined in depth. The thesis that the public relations function served both the company and the society at large as the primary agent of mitigation is stated and tested. This paper finds that the public relations function performed a critical service by explaining the traditions of the society to the oil company, and negotiating for the oil company with the formal and informal organizations present in the society. These public relations practitioners also performed the critical task of representing, and at times. performing advocacy services for, groups within the society whose values were threatened by the western practices of the oil companies. This latter function is very different from the traditional roles of western public relations staffs. The research concludes that in this particular circumstance the contribution of the public relations staff was essential to both the company and the society in coping with enormous social pressures.
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Strouble, Bruce Warren Jr. "Racism vs. Social Capital| A Case Study of Two Majority Black Communities." Thesis, Walden University, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3717562.
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Several researchers have identified social capital as a means to improve the social sustainability of communities. While there have been many studies investigating the benefits of social capital in homogeneous White communities, few have examined it in Black homogeneous communities. Also, there has been limited research on the influence of racism on social capital in African American communities. In this dissertation a comparative case study was used within a critical race theory framework. The purpose was to explore the role of racial oppression in shaping social capital in majority African American communities. Data were collected from 2 majority Black communities in Florida. The collected data included reviews of local news reports, voter turnout reports, and community health assessments, along with focus groups and semi structured interviews with a purposive sample of 20 of the communities’ African American residents. Benet’s polarities of democracy model was employed to analyze the relationship between racism and social capital. Analysis included inductive coding followed by pattern matching to identify overarching themes between the selected cases. One key theme was that perceived racial disparity inhibited bridging and linking social capital in the selected communities. Another key theme was that racism created social capital deficiencies and a dysfunctional community culture, which limited the capacity to address collective issues. Social change implications include specific policy recommendations to state and local leaders to increase the participation of Black community members in democratic processes. Additionally, this research has potential to improve understanding of the various ways that racism may affect Black Communities.
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Li, Ching-yi Helen. "Planning policy for hawkers : case studies of Fa Yuen Street & Temple Street /." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1998. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B19906274.
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Sharag-Eldin, Adiyana. "The Role of Geography Space and Place in Social Media Communication:Two Case Studies of Policy Perspectives." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1571484284023254.
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Wilson, Roland B. "The Nexus between U.S. Foreign Policy and Conflict Resolution or Protraction| The case of North Korea." Thesis, George Mason University, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3720906.
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This study analyzes the connection between U.S. foreign policy and its mechanisms for either the resolution or protraction of conflict using the case of North Korea. This case is particularly ripe for resolution with regard to the United States’ recent “Pivot to Asia.” Moreover, now that North Korea is under the new leadership of the young, relatively unknown leader Kim Jong-un, this may be an essential the time to explore and implement alternative methods for ending this conflict. The purpose of this study is to enquire whether combining conflict analysis and resolution (CAR) tools and practices with alternative and dynamic soft foreign policy efforts might play a positive role in resolving this conflict. This study was conducted by analyzing current and historical documents on U.S. foreign policy, studying its desired or stated effects and comparing them to the known actual effects on the North Korean regime and its people. To help understand these effects, this study also sought the unique foreign policy perspectives, opinions, needs and desires of former North Korea refugees. The significance of this is in understanding and evaluating where CAR opportunities surface by promoting the participation of stakeholders as catalysts for change from the group of people directly affected by foreign policy: North Koreans themselves. The findings show that the U.S. foreign policy approach towards North Korea has not significantly evolved over the past 60 years. Moreover, even those North Koreans interviewed who steadfastly support a continued U.S. hard policy approach toward their former homeland conceded that positive change would also require alternative approaches that promote direct and indirect high quality contact. The findings also show even in a controlled interview environment, North Korean Refugees can change how they think, interact, and receive information, based on direct HQC and the positive repositioning of self and other. Many also had sustained contact with their loved ones still living in the North, and provide them with aid. Most North Koreans interviewed had received indirect and or direct information about the outside world when they had lived in North Korea including such things as listening to radio, watching movies or drama and receiving aid, which had a positive effect on them. While most North Koreans (still in the north) do not believe in religion, it can be an effective tool for change. The regime has continued for so long due to the structural violence and deprivation it has over society. Finally, local markets in North Korea play a key role in changing the lives of North Koreans and that North Korean diaspora can help change North Korea. The analysis provides innovative conflict resolution methods and offers potential tools and recommendations for a multi-dimensional foreign policy approach, which may affect and alter foreign policy discussions and decisions. This study, the results and recommendations are intended to be an initial step toward rethinking U.S. foreign policy for purposes of “provention.”
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Cohen, Erez. "Re-thinking the 'migrant community' : a study of Latin American migrants and refugees in Adelaide." Title page, contents and abstract only, 2001. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phc6782.pdf.
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Includes bibliographical references (leaves 259-270) Based on 18-months fieldwork, 1997-1999, in various organisations, social clubs and radio programs that were constructed by participants and 'outsiders' as an expression of a local migrant community. Attempts to answer and challenge what it means to be a Latin American in Adelaide and in what sense Latin American migrants and refugees in Adelaide can be spoken about as members of an 'ethnic/migrant community' in relation to the official multiculturalism discourse and popular representations of migrants in Australia.
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Forsyth, Rowena Public Health & Community Medicine Faculty of Medicine UNSW. "Tricky technology, troubled tribes: a video ethnographic study of the impact of information technology on health care professionals??? practices and relationships." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Public Health and Community Medicine, 2006. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/30175.
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Whilst technology use has always been a part of the practice of health care delivery, more recently, information technology has been applied to aspects of clinical work concerned with documentation. This thesis presents an analysis of the ways that two professional groups, one clinical and one ancillary, at a single hospital cooperatively engage in a work practice that has recently been computerised. It investigates the way that a clinical group???s approach to and actual use of the system creates problems for the ancillary group. It understands these problems to arise from the contrasting ways that the groups position their use of documentation technology in their local definitions of professional status. The data on which analysis of these practices is based includes 16 hours of video recordings of the work practices of the two groups as they engage with the technology in their local work settings as well as video recordings of a reflexive viewing session conducted with participants from the ancillary group. Also included in the analysis are observational field notes, interviews and documentary analysis. The analysis aimed to produce a set of themes grounded in the specifics of the data, and drew on TLSTranscription?? software for the management and classification of video data. This thesis seeks to contribute to three research fields: health informatics, sociology of professions and social science research methodology. In terms of health informatics, this thesis argues for the necessity for health care information technology design to understand and incorporate the work practices of all professional groups who will be involved in using the technology system or whose work will be affected by its introduction. In terms of the sociology of professions, this thesis finds doctors and scientists to belong to two distinct occupational communities that each utilise documentation technology to different extents in their displays of professional competence. Thirdly, in terms of social science research methodology, this thesis speculates about the possibility for viewing the engagement of the groups with the research process as indicative of their reactions to future sources of outside perturbance to their work.
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Cato, Mary E. "The Limits of Law as Technology for Environmental Policy: A Case Study of the Bronx Community Paper Company." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/36754.
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This thesis examines environmental law as a social technology, using approaches from science and technology studies, including methods for studying controversies as well as actornetwork and technology transfer concepts. Legal technologies, including statutes, regulations, and lawsuits, have become significant participants in United States environmental policy. That policy developed during the twentieth century in response to contrasting concerns about nature (development of natural resources vs. protection of native species and wilderness), along with growing concern about urban environmental issues (such as air and water quality, and waste disposal). The environmental movement that began after World War II gained power with provisions incorporated into 1970s environmental legislation allowing citizens to sue polluting industries and corporations. Opposition to environmentalism developed in the 1980s, as wise use and property rights movements seeking to expand development of natural resources, and an environmental justice movement concerned with issues and constituencies not addressed by mainstream environmental organizations. As a result of that opposition, the environmental movement in the United States has strengthened, and broadened both the memberships in varied organizations and the range of issues addressed. A case study of the Bronx Community Paper Company provides an example of the current state of environmental law and policy in the United States, and the limited ability of legal technologies to resolve increasingly complex environmental controversies.Master of Science
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Spencer, Paul. "Investigating local creative industries development initiatives in England : case studies in Urban South Hampshire, 2011-14." Thesis, University of Winchester, 2017. http://repository.winchester.ac.uk/856/.
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In recent years the creative industries have become a focus of policy and academic discussion across the world. However, much of the existing literature has concentrated on national perspectives or on social and economic regeneration strategies in large cultural cities while data and understanding at the local level is more limited. This thesis aims to help redress this imbalance by focussing on the smaller and less established context of Urban South Hampshire on the central south coast of England. Longitudinal case studies are used to explore two key research questions, firstly, what are the needs, motivations and experiences of people hoping to develop careers and businesses in the sector; and secondly, how can local initiatives and public sector interventions support creative industries development. While some guidance is available to assist local and regional decision-makers there are few studies which follow the evolution of specific interventions over time to evaluate their effectiveness and inform future sectoral strategies. Although the urban bias of the creative industries is well documented this thesis argues that under the right conditions and with the right policies and initiatives towns and smaller cities can offer a more welcoming, affordable and socially cohesive creative milieu in contrast to the highly competitive environments of major cities. Demand for specialist initiatives with a dual focus on nurturing creative practice as well as promoting enterprise and business skills is also highlighted. This is especially relevant at the cultural-end of the sector which is becoming increasingly exposed to market pressures in part due to recent cuts in public sector spending. The thesis also argues that creative individuals are seeking new spaces to exist within the sector which allow them a level of creative autonomy over their practice while also enabling them to develop sustainable careers and successful businesses.
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Du, Jie. "The politics of engendering the policy process : case studies of two campaigns in China - the anti domestic violence campaign and equal retirement age campaign." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2012. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/546/.
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The aim of my thesis is to investigate the politics of the civil society organizations in policy advocacy for gender equality in China. It adopts an agency-oriented approach to illustrate how women civil society organizations of various kinds actively negotiated gender interests in policy change within limited space and access. Through two advocacy activities, I seek to understand why the desired outcomes were different in these two cases by identifying the variables that either hindered or enhanced the realization of their goals. I focus on two policy issues, namely the equal retirement age in the development of the Civil Servant Law (2005) and domestic violence in the revision of the Marriage Law (2001) and the Women’s Law (2005). These two cases are of interest because the actors of the CSOs involved in advocating policy change met with different success in their efforts. In the case of domestic violence issues, the women’s organizations were able to bring about a change. In the case of the retirement age issue, however, the women’s federation was unable to bring about any desired change. The assumed variables include legitimacy, leadership, organizational forms, organizational learning and sources of funds. These conditioning factors are drawn from previous scholarship in civil society, public policy and social movements. I integrate these factors into a pentagon shaped framework that serves as a road map to guide my discussion throughout the thesis. The theoretical purpose of this study is to enrich understanding of the conditioning factors that are responsible for the results of CSO advocacy in China. On the other hand, it also contains a practical purpose, namely to provide implications for civil society actors seeking to influence policy process in China.
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Liang, Meiying. "The Authoritarian Environmentalism in China : - “air policy” implementation research in Jing-Jin-Ji region as case studies." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för samhällsstudier (SS), 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-80648.
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The concept of “Environmental authoritarian” becomes the focus of discussion in the academic field of environmental politics since it has limited observations. In the recent years, the severe air pollute issue is considered as a threat by both citizens and authorities in China. Along with the more stricter environmental protection laws being issued, even the measures of the factory closings and coal ban seems to become acceptable as the population have suffered in the heavy smog for years. Does this led to the rise of “environmental authoritarian” in China? Taking this as a heuristic point, I observe the positions of various stakeholders in the environmental governance as well as present the findings from research on the implementation and enforcement of air pollution controls measures in Jing-Jin-Ji region. I offer a critical examination of “environmental authoritarian”, especially the levels of public participation at the policy process. After to do the research, the key funding is that the concept of “Environmental authoritarian” is too simplified, it cannot cover the complex and detailed environmental governance at local empirical cases.
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Ako, Joshua Ndip. "The Reorientation of Borders in the EU: Case studies Sweden, Germany, and France." Thesis, Södertörns högskola, Institutionen för samhällsvetenskaper, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-45922.
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The paradox of contemporary migration in the EU is that new actors, rules, and institutions have emerged and created internal spaces where there is a gradual reorientation of the character of EU border regime. These spaces have become arenas where EU member states are re-categorizing, re-scaling, expanding, and diversifying their modes of internal migration control and enforcement. To overcome this paradox, this research seeks to explore migration policies in Sweden, Germany, and France to demonstrate that the narratives about EU common border policy is complex, uncertain, polarising, and conflicting. This paper argues that the emergence of the EU common border regime with a multiplicity of actors have created everyday bordering as a rebordering mechanism of control that threatens the idea of a common EU border, especially at the level of nation states. My theoretical approach is based on ‘everyday bordering and the politics of beloninging’. And I applied an interpretative approach in the analysis of official policy documents, academic articles, media reports, advocacy papers, NGO documents, and political speeches.
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Huber, Stephan. "“Walking encyclopedias of studies” for sustainability transformations? The role of information and discourse in the case of the German coal phase-out." Thesis, Stockholms universitet, Stockholm Resilience Centre, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-197233.
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Transformations of energy systems in line with the Paris Agreement demand rapid deliberate decline of fossil energy production for decarbonization. Rising in priority on national political agendas, policy change for deliberate decline meets political barriers in the form of powerful incumbent actors, path dependencies and frames of loss. Although these dynamics can impede transformations, literature remains unclear in how to engage with these barriers. Therefore, this study focused on discourse and policy process theories in a qualitative analysis based on a broad selection of documents and expert-based interviews to explore and illustrate the “Commission on Growth, Structural Change and Employment” in Germany (2018/19). In this multi-stakeholder committee, a phase-out plan for coal-fired power generation was negotiated alongside claims of just transitions. Findings indicate that policy change was reached through consensual agreement but was reduced in ambition through path dependent discourse and expert-based information. The selection and evaluation of expert-based information was closely tied to expert members, while political debate on necessary assumptions as a basis for this information remained scarce. Lastly, insights from discourse and expert-based information can enrich the understanding of sustainability transformations and further research on the case could investigate the narrative subscriptions of stakeholders.
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Clark, Colette Bronwen. "Social dialogue through the rationalisation and redeployment policy process in education post 1994 : an analysis of perceptions and experiences of key policy actors within the Gauteng province.'." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/53592.
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Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Since 1995, despite the consultative processes with regards to Rationalisation and Redeployment, many stakeholders did not accept, nor understand the rationale behind the government's drive to redistribute human resources. It is widely known that there existed immense tensions and conflicts between educators and bureaucrats on the issue, which played itself out in the Grove Primary School case, as well as the withdrawal of regulations because of a 'threatened strike', due to government's disregard for participatory democracy. Using a case study, within the Gauteng province, this research investigated the experiences and perceptions of key policy actors on the policy planning and implementation processes by tracking the development of social dialogue during this process. The conceptual framework for this study was provided in the work of Cheng and Cheung (1995), who provided a generic empirical education policy analysis model, which tracks the policy processes within linear phases. Fifty indicators were identified, which were used to measure the efficacy of the policy-making process, as well as the evolution of social dialogue in the policy discourse. This study argues that in an endeavour to implement redress and equity, the policy employed had its inherent weaknesses. The researcher used a structured questionnaire to measure key policy actors (formulators and implementers), experiences and perceptions of the process employed. The qualitative methodology, which was supported by the quantitative data analysis approach, exposed that bureaucratic attitude towards socio-political participation, a technocratic approach to educational imperatives, strong union organisation, empowered parents, and the lack of capacity at certain levels of administration to deal with resistance directly and indirectly, contributed to the ambiguous success of this policy intervention. The purpose of this research was to assist in improving the efficacy of the policy pathways, by proposing a modified strategy, which includes dialogue with all relevant role players. In focusing primarily on the analysis of the Rationalisation and Redeployment Policy process, the findings of this empirical research have therefore shown how opinions and perceptions about the efficacy of a policy process are directly linked to the experiences of policy actors with regards to social dialogue during the process. As any interventionist policy is a negotiated responsibility of all educational role players, in order to promote an enabling educative environment, the consultative, as well as the policy processes proposed in this study, are based on principles grounded in research which makes optimal use of existing structures.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Sedert 1995, ten spyte van die konsultatiewe proses rakende rasionalisasie en her-ontplooing, het min van die rolspelers die proses aanvaar, of die rasionaal agter die regering se poging om menslike hulpbronne te herversprei verstaan. Dit is alombekend dat daar reuse spanning en konflik tussen opvoeders en burokrate, gesentreer rondom die Grove Primêre Skool saak, bestaan het. Dit het saamgegaan met die ontrekking van regulasies -as gevolg van 'n beoogde staking weens die regering se miskenning van deelnemende demokrasie. Hierdie studie maak gebruik van 'n gevalle studie in die Gauteng provinsie. Hiervolgens is daar 'n ondersoek na die ervarings en persepsies van sleutel beleidsrolspleers ten opsigte van beleidsbeplanning en implementeringsprosesse. Die hoofidee is om die ontwikkeling van die sosiale dialoog binne die provinsiale onderwys na te spoor. Die konsepsuele raamwerk word verskaf deur Cheng and Cheung (1995), wie se werk 'n generiese empiriese onderwysbeleidsontleding model voortgebring het. Hierdie model volg die beleidsproses binne liniêre fases. Vyftig aanwysers word geïdentifiseer, wat gebruik word om die effektiwiteit van die beleidsformuleringproses sowel as die evolusie van sosiale dialoog te meet. Hierdie studie voer aan dat in die poging om herverspreding en gelykberegtiging te implementeer, die rasionalisasie en her-ontplooing proses opsigself inherente swakhede gehad het. "n Gestruktueerde vraelys, om sleutel rolspelers se ervarings en persepsies van die beleidsproses te meet, is gebruik. Hierdie navorsing bring na vore die feit dat burokratiese houdings jeens sosiopolitiese deelname, "n tegnokratiese benadering tot opvoedkundige imperatiewe, sterk vakbondorganisasie, bemagtigde ouers, en bestuursvlak se onvermoë om weerstand te hanteer, bygedra het tot die dubbelsinnige sukses van hierdie beleidsintervensie. Die doel van die navorsing is om die effektiwiteit van die beleidsweë te verbeter. Dit word gedoen deur die voorstel van 'n gewysigde strategie, wat die dialoog van alle relevante rolsplers insluit. Deur primêr te fokus op die rasionalisasie en her-ontplooing proses, wys die navorsing dat opinies en persepsies rondom die effektiwiteit van 'n beleidsproses direk gekoppel is aan die ervarings van beleidsrolspelers met betrekking tot sosiale dialoog. Die konsultatiewe sowel as die beleidsprosesse wat voorgestel word in hierdie studie is gebaseer op beginsels wat opsigself gefundeer is in navorsing wat van die bestaande strukture optimaal gebruik maak.
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Merkes, Monika, and monika@melbpc org au. "A longer working life for Australian women of the baby boom generation? � Women�s voices and the social policy implications of an ageing female workforce." La Trobe University. School of Public Health, 2003. http://www.lib.latrobe.edu.au./thesis/public/adt-LTU20051103.104704.
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With an increasing proportion of older people in the Australian population and increasing health and longevity, paid work after the age of 65 years may become an option or a necessity in the future. The focus of this research is on Australian women of the baby boom generation, their working futures, and the work-retirement decision. This is explored both from the viewpoint of women and from a social policy perspective. The research draws on Considine�s model of public policy, futures studies, and Beck�s concept of risk society. The research comprises three studies. Using focus group research, Study 1 explored the views of Australian women of the baby boom generation on work after the age of 65 years. Study 2 aimed to explore current thinking on the research topic in Australia and overseas. Computer-mediated communication involving an Internet website and four scenarios for the year 2020 were used for this study. Study 3 consists of the analysis of quantitative data from the Healthy Retirement Project, focusing on attitudes towards retirement, retirement plans, and the preferred and expected age of retirement. The importance of choice and a work � life balance emerged throughout the research. Women in high-status occupations were found to be more likely to be open to the option of continuing paid work beyond age 65 than women in low-status jobs. However, the women were equally likely to embrace future volunteering. The research findings suggest that policies for an ageing female workforce should be based on the values of inclusiveness, fairness, self-determination, and social justice, and address issues of workplace flexibility, equality in the workplace, recognition for unpaid community and caring work, opportunities for life-long learning, complexity and inequities of the superannuation system, and planning for retirement. Further, providing a guaranteed minimum income for all Australians should be explored as a viable alternative to the current social security system.
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Thambekwayo, Musa A. "Investigating mentoring as a form of social learning for school principals." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/20150.
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Thesis (MEd)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Mentoring as a professional development strategy forms an integral part of the Advanced Certificate: School leadership that was introduced in 2007 by the National Education department as an entry qualification in the school principalship. The Advanced Certificate in Education: School Leadership is aimed at capacitating school leaders to address the challenges experienced by school principals. The primary objective of this study was to investigate whether the mentorship component of the course is experienced as a form of social learning by the candidates. To achieve this goal, open-ended questions were prepared and administered during semi-structured interviews with the school principals who have been mentored within the ACE programme. The interviews were conducted to ten (10) participants including principals, deputy principals and heads of departments (school level) within the Gert Sibande District (Mpumalanga Province). The investigation highlighted that principals do indeed experience mentoring as a form of social learning. This was confirmed by the statements given by the interviewed principals that their learning was based on learning from each other through observation and engagement as well as through their mentors. This learning is confirmed by Bandura’s Social Learning Theory (1977) which suggests that learning takes place through observation and positive behaviour of the mentor. Based on the findings, the main recommendations were that mentorship, as social learning, should be extended to all school leaders and ultimately to school educators, that a mentoring unit should be based at each district office, that the selection of mentors should be carried out carefully so that protégés could benefit maximally and that the period of mentoring should go beyond merely being a component of an academic course.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Mentorskap as ‘n professionele ontwikkelingstrategie vorm ‘n integrale deel van die Gevorderde Onderwyssertifikaat: Skoolleierskap wat in 2007 deur die Nasionale Onderwysdepartement as ‘n toetree-kwalifikasie vir skoolhoofde ingestel is. Die Gevorderde Onderwyssertifikaat: Skooleierskap is gerig op die kapasitering van skoolleiers om die uitdagings wat die posisie van Skoolhoof meebring aan te spreek. Die primêre doelwit van die studie was om vas te stel of die mentorskapkomponent van die kursus deur kandidate as ‘n vorm van sosiale leer ervaar word. Om die doel te bereik is oopvrae voorberei en geadministreer tydens semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude met skoolhoofde wat as deel van die Gevorderde Sertifikaat: Skoolleierskapkursus gementor is. Die onderhoude is gevoer met tien skoolhoofde, adjunkhoofde en departementshoofde van die Gert Sibande distrik (Mpumalanga). Die ondersoek het aan die lig gebring dat skoolhoofde wel die mentorskapproses as ‘n vorm van sosiale leer ervaar. Hierdie aspek is bevestig deur die respons van skoolleiers dat hulle van mekaar geleer het deur observasie en braadslaging asook deur die modelering van mentors. Diè vorm van leer strook met Bandura se Teorie van Sosiale Leer (2007) wat die idée onderskryf dat leer plaasvind deur observasie en modelering van positiewe gedrag van die mentor. Gebaseer op die bevindinge is die hoof aanbevelings wat in die studie gemaak word dat mentorskap, as sosiale leer, uitgebrei behoort te word na alle skoolleiers en uiteindelik na alle onderwysers, dat ‘n mentorskapeenheid by elke distrik gebaseer behoort te word, dat die keuring van mentors omsigtig moet geskied sodat protégés maksimaal voordeel trek en dat mentorskap verder moet strek as bloot ‘n komponent van ‘n akademiese kursus.
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Jabbari, Fatma. "The Discursive Production of Citizenship, Social Identity, and Religious Discrimination:The Case of Tunisia." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1524332005234282.
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Lai, Yuet-ying Judith, and 黎月瑩。. "The effectiveness of the housing subsidy policy in redistribution public housing resources in Hong Kong." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1999. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B42574924.
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Tasovac, Masa. "An examination of the intercultural outcome of a policy of educational division based on spoken language : the case of educational policy in Vukovar, Croatia." Scholarly Commons, 2010. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/757.
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A four-year war in Croatia in the early nineties left Eastern Slavonia and the Vukovar region struggling with the consequences of inter-ethnic conflict and human suffering. Poorly addressed post-ethnic reconciliation issues resulted in many challenges in everyday living for the people of Vukovar, especially so with the segregation of the public educational system based on language and ethnicity. This research explored the outcomes of the policy in Vukovar to divide the student body based on the language they spoke.
The literature review examined issues of inter-ethnic conflict, post-war reconciliation, and the process of grieving and transition in order to define how these processes affect people involved in public schooling in Vukovar today. I have examined literature in intercultural sensitivity, intercultural conflict, reconciliation, cultural marginality, and identity formation.
I compiled data through in-depth interviews with five specialists in the field of public educational system in Vukovar. They included a journalist and author, a teacher, administrators, and parents.
I found the presence of slow but consistent increase in readiness for the process of rejoining schools in Vukovar. This convergence in attitudes of the majority and the minority groups regarding their public school education might be the best indicator that Vukovar is shifting from the position of grieving to a place more open to the new solutions and agreements. However, one should not forget that bringing students together is not a key to reconciliation. Even though it appears that parents and teachers have motivation and good incentives to accomplish the process of reuniting, the students themselves lack the understanding of the importance of the same.
I hope that this study will provide insight into the state of affairs in Vukovar's educational system today and may provide insight into the ways of managing the larger issues of reintegration and reconciliation between the diverse cultural communities.
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Hidalgo, Patrick (Patrick Francisco). "Analyzing the critical success factors for two distinct social movement case studies : climate change & the opening of U.S.-Cuba policy." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/63233.
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Thesis (M.B.A.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2010.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references.
There are a number of complex and seemingly intractable social problems facing the United States and the world today. Following the election of President Barack Obama in 2008, there was a renewed popular interest in organizing and movement building as effective means of effecting profound social change in the United States. This thesis explores whether organizing can be used to address social problems today, in addition to elections. Specifically, I try to tackle this question by analyzing two distinct and unrelated movements: climate change and the effort to open U.S.-Cuba policy. First, the basic organizing framework is introduced. Then, each case study is presented with an eye towards how the use of narrative, selfinterest, power, moral courage and strategy are being employed. The analysis sheds light on extensive interviews that were conducted with 20 leaders that are part, or have formed part, of these two movements, and focuses on the strategic challenges and opportunities facing a key protagonist in each case. Finally, the conclusion proposes that organizing can indeed make significant contributions to these specific social problems and offers suggestions for how each movement might incorporate key organizing principles into its work going forward.
by Patrick Hidalgo.
M.B.A.
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Boyles, Julie. "Women's Actions and Reactions to Male Migration: A Case Study of Women in San Juan Guelavía, Oaxaca, Mexico." PDXScholar, 2013. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/659.
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Using a mixed methods, interdisciplinary case study approach, this research project explores the benefits, risks, and challenges of male migration for women who reside in San Juan Guelavía, Oaxaca, Mexico. In a unique approach in the field of migration studies, this project considers not only women whose husbands have migrated--absent husbands--but also the impact of male migration on women whose husbands have returned as well as women whose husbands have never left--anchored husbands. Women with returned husbands and even women with anchored husbands feel the threat, worry, and fear that male migration could, at an unknown point in the future, fragment their family. This case study approach looks at how women's work responses are differentiated by husbands' migration status, by age, and by husband's control over women's activities. Women with absent husbands tend be income-producing women as well as women ages 35 to 50 far more than women 35 and under and 50 and over. With motherhood as a cultured priority of rural Mexican women, women's income-producing opportunities are primarily limited to options within the home or in venues that can accommodate their children until the children enter school. Although this case study showed little or no connection between male migration and educational attainment, substantial policy-worthy findings suggest that the lack of value that residents of San Juan Guelavía place on the local public high school curriculum negatively impacts educational attainment of children beyond middle school. Women's traditional and cultural emphasis of marriage for their daughters as well as their reluctance to expose daughters to the negative influences of the city sway the decisions that women make for their daughters.
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Strouble, Bruce W. "Racism vs. Social Capital: A Case Study of Two Majority Black Communities." ScholarWorks, 2015. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/1353.
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Several researchers have identified social capital as a means to improve the social sustainability of communities. While there have been many studies investigating the benefits of social capital in homogeneous White communities, few have examined it in Black homogeneous communities. Also, there has been limited research on the influence of racism on social capital in African American communities. In this dissertation a comparative case study was used within a critical race theory framework. The purpose was to explore the role of racial oppression in shaping social capital in majority African American communities. Data were collected from 2 majority Black communities in Florida. The collected data included reviews of local news reports, voter turnout reports, and community health assessments, along with focus groups and semi structured interviews with a purposive sample of 20 of the communities' African American residents. Benet's polarities of democracy model was employed to analyze the relationship between racism and social capital. Analysis included inductive coding followed by pattern matching to identify overarching themes between the selected cases. One key theme was that perceived racial disparity inhibited bridging and linking social capital in the selected communities. Another key theme was that racism created social capital deficiencies and a dysfunctional community culture, which limited the capacity to address collective issues. Social change implications include specific policy recommendations to state and local leaders to increase the participation of Black community members in democratic processes. Additionally, this research has potential to improve understanding of the various ways that racism may affect Black Communities.
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Sandberg, Johanna. "Institutionally Shaped Response to the Introduction of National Guidelines : Case Studies in the Swedish Regional Health Policy Arena." Licentiate thesis, Linköpings universitet, Avdelningen för hälso- och sjukvårdsanalys, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-152648.
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The purpose of this thesis is to explore the institutionally shaped response to the introduction of the national guidelines on the Swedish regional health policy arena. The thesis consists of two case studies. Adapting a qualitative approach, the data is based on individual interviews and these were analysed thematically. The first paper explores the response by four Swedish regional health authorities to the introduction of the National Guidelines for Cardiac Care, while the second paper aims to broaden the understanding of how the national guidelines are used for strategic purposes among politicians. As illustrated in this thesis, organizations will respond, adjust and react to external pressure according to conditions shaped by the institutional context. Key findings here are that the national guidelines are a complex policy instrument that, beyond being able to be used in an instrumental fashion by the medical managment, can also serve a legitimizing function for political decision-makers. The goals of the national guidelines, i.e. equal and efficient care, and the uncertainty about who, among multiple stakeholders, is responsible for the guidelines in the regional health authority, is a source of ambiguity and potential conflict. Those who are potentially responsible represent different rationales – a political rationale and a scientific rationale. The dominating scientific rationale of the national guidelines can create instability, when pushing towards the use of explicit priority-setting. Priority-setting in the institutional setting of a regional health authority has strong elements of becoming “wicked problems” since the dilemma of prioritization remains regardless of ambitions to apply a “technocratic fix”. A wicked problem is characterized by high complexity and being persistently hard to solve (Williams et al. 2012). A recurring dilemma is that priority-setting still contains many wicked problems, as social values and political considerations remain important parts of the policy process. One weakness of the national guidelines, identified in this thesis, is that the guidelines discuss each service area separately, and thereby reinforce a silo mentality in the Swedish health policy arena. To sum up, the national guidelines create a multifaceted and complex response in the Swedish health policy arena where different rationalities collide, and where conflicts appear and are dealt with within the regional health authorities.
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Bach, Carina. "What’s the Problem with Sex Trafficking? : A case study on the European Union’s Policy and Legal Framework." Thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för statsvetenskap (ST), 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-100010.
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This study questions the way sex trafficking is constructed by the EU in their public policy exploring what potential implications exist by the way sex trafficking is problematised. Hence, the objective of this study is to understand how the EU constructs the problem of sex trafficking in their policies, and how this can lead to further policy implications for eradicating sex trafficking. This research analyses the three main policy documents by the EU; Directive 2001/36/EU, its strategy document The EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings 2012–2016 and Council Directive 2004/81/EC. The discourse analysis called What’s the problem represented to be? will be used as method. It also analyses through the theories of Intersectionality and Governmentality. The results reveal that sex trafficking is a problem of law enforcement, welfare, and illegal immigration. Sex trafficking is constructed as a crime that violates fundamental rights, encourages gender inequality, and threatens the security in the EU. The way the EU constructs victims endorses gender and racial stereotypes. Furthermore, not much efforts are on reducing root causes for trafficking, as main the focus is on the transportation rather than on the exploitation of the victim.
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Bernhard, Irene. "E-government and e-governance : Swedish case studies with focus on the local level." Licentiate thesis, KTH, Urbana och regionala studier, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-133773.
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The concepts of e-government and e-governance are used interchangeably in most research and there is no single definition of these terms. The objective of this licentiate thesis is to provide a deeper understanding of these concepts through empirical studies in a Swedish context. Further, it aims to analyse whether – and if so in what way – the implementation of local contact centres (CC) affect conditions for local planning. This is reported in three articles. In this thesis e-government is defined to as the use of tools and systems by governmental bodies made possible by ICT that affect the organization of public administration. E-governance is defined as the ICT-based networks of services and administration in New Public Management settings including both public and private actors. Case study methodology is used as research method, including interviews, focus group studies, document studies, and some participatory observations. The analysis is partly built on an inductive methodological approach, since this is a new, emerging field of innovative policy and practice. Based on a theoretical discussion of New Public Management in the digital era, findings show that there is a difference between the concepts of e-government and e-governance from the perspective of e-administration and e-services and that the terms should not be used interchangeably. The study indicates that there are examples of implementation that are referred to the e-governance setting. Further the study indicates that local municipal contact centres may be referred to not only as an implementation of e-government but as a combination of e-governance and e-government. The findings indicate that there is a potential for positive impact on the conditions for local planning through the implementation of municipal contact centres.QC 20131111
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Law, Yeuk-tim, and 羅躍添. "Social cost of urban renewal: a case study ofthe urban renewal scheme in Hong Kong." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1998. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31968284.
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Kaburu, Gilbert. "Teaching for Social Justice in Northern Uganda: The Case of Mission Girl's School." The Ohio State University, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1404217879.
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Penny, Jessica Nicole. "Language Policy and Planning in Spain: A Case Study of Accessibility of Education, Employment, and Social Services in Catalonia." Marietta College Honors Theses / OhioLINK, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=marhonors1367240234.
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Alexander, Kathy. "Promoting health at the local level : a management and planning model for primary health care services /." Title page, contents and introduction only, 1994. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09pha376.pdf.
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Chalapati, Supaporn, and Supaporn chalapati@rmit edu au. "The Internationalisation of Higher Education in Thailand: Case Studies of Two English-Medium Business Graduate Programs." RMIT University. Global Studies, Social Science and Planning, 2008. http://adt.lib.rmit.edu.au/adt/public/adt-VIT20080729.145018.
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This thesis discusses the impact of economic globalisation on Thai higher education and society. Thailand's severe economic crisis in the second half of 1997 through 1998 has led to education reform at all levels. Since the crisis, Thailand has been focusing on the development of its human potential and creativity and enhancing the capability of communities, societies and the nation as a whole. The education system of Thailand is being redirected away from nation-building objectives towards 'human capital' creation; education is seen as a form of economic investment. Thailand, like its industrialising neighbours in Southeast Asia and close Western neighbours, is striving to adjust to the pressures of economic globalisation. As a result, Thailand's higher education system is undergoing significant intellectual and strategic reorientation to meet the demands of the modern global economy. Urged by government and employers to produce graduates with more globally relevant knowledge and skills, Thai universities are attempting to redefine their relevance with increased emphasis on proficiency in English. This imperative explains the expansion of full-fee English-medium education and the emergence of government policies encouraging the internationalisation of curricula. Since the mid-1990s, successive Thai governments have paid some attention to the concept of internationalisation but have yet to produce a clear statement of what internationalisation means in the Thai context. Thailand's internationalisation policy, such as it is, aims to cultivate a globally skilled workforce and has directly encouraged the establishment of English-medium business graduate programs, branded as 'international' at a number of leading universities in Bangkok. This thesis examines concerns as to the level of English proficiency achieved by students passing through these programs and questions the appropriateness of the term 'international' for programs, many of which appear to be cloned from business studies degrees offered in major native English-speaking countries. While government policies assert the need to reform education at all levels, both the idea and the parameters of 'internationalisation' remain ill-defined. Consequently, this thesis maps out the scope of internationalisation in education from a global and a local Thai perspective to present a more integrated framework for analysing the implications of the policies. The approach taken presents a multilayered and holistic reading of significant economic and cultural change taking place in Thailand through the lens of higher education reforms and public debates about globalisation and education. More specifically, this thesis examines internationalisation of Thai higher education as an aspect of globalisation and 'global' practice at the 'local' level, observable in the policies, statements, actions and intentions expressed by political leaders, government officials, university administrators, teachers, students and employers. Significantly, Thai cultural characteristics have a profound impact on these key acto rs' attitudes towards practice of international education, particularly in the cross-cultural teaching and learning settings. This thesis argues that a more holistic and integrated approach to internationalisation across all related policy domains is needed if the country is to more effectively respond to the challenges of a globalising world.
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McMillan, Gregory Neil. "30 years on from Kangan: an analysis of the current policy position of TAFE Queensland." Queensland University of Technology, 2007. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16569/.
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Within Australia, Vocational Education and Training (VET) encompasses the Technical and Further Education (TAFE) sector, private providers, community education and training, and work-based training. Additionally, some VET activities are embedded within the secondary school and university sectors. As the major provider of Government-funded vocational education and training, TAFE has undergone significant change since its establishment in the 1970's. Historically, TAFE has provided broader education and social opportunities for individuals beyond a narrower focus on the achievement of training outcomes for economic benefits. However, shifts in policy direction in 1980's and 1990's have seen the delineation between broader education and economic outcomes becoming less distinct. While this is perhaps true of all education sectors, it has potentially impacted more on TAFE than any other sector. This thesis investigated these impacts within the context of TAFE's social service and economic utility roles. This was undertaken by analysing seven seminal Commonwealth and Queensland documents and by analysing the findings of interviews with six senior executives within Queensland's Department of Employment and Training and TAFE. The key findings of this thesis indicate that TAFE Queensland continues to perform a number of functions or activities that can be associated with a social service role. However, the findings also indicate that, for TAFE Queensland, there has been a shift towards an economic utility role. Since the Kangan Report (1974), TAFE's role has become more focussed on meeting Queensland's economic and industry needs within a broad view that Australia needs a flexible workforce, qualified to industry standards of competence and able to compete in a globalised world.
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Nalin, Emma R. "Building Relationships between a Free Clinic and Its Donors." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2018. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1404598/.
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This thesis presents qualitative research conducted in summer 2017 at the Finger Lakes Free Clinic, which provides free medical and holistic care to people without insurance in upstate New York. The primary goal of this research was to strengthen the relationship between a free clinic and its donors by gathering donor concerns and perceptions regarding federal healthcare policy. Data from 32 interviews with donors, staff, board members, and volunteers, along with 100 hours of participant observation revealed that donors to this clinic were concerned about the potential impact of Congressional healthcare reform yet did not consider federal policy a strong influence on their donations. Rather, donors cited dedication to local giving and personal connections with the clinic as their primary motivations. These motivations suggest the value of viewing the clinic-donor relationship as a relationship of reciprocity. From this framework, the research identifies opportunities for the clinic to reciprocate donor generosity while expanding services in response to a growing need. Insights from the research will guide the clinic's response to federal policy changes and support the clinic's vision of becoming a national model for integrative care.
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Tzeng, Cheng-Hua 1973. "Growing entrepreneurial firms in developing countries : the interplay of the state, the market and the social sector." Thesis, McGill University, 2006. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=102829.
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This study builds an integrative framework to delineate the process of growing entrepreneurial firms in developing countries. Deriving from the existing entrepreneurship literature, this thesis uses two notions to delineate the process of growth of indigenous firms: entrepreneurial intent and entrepreneurial capability. Then, drawing on the literature of economic development, it identifies three key sectors, the state, the market and the social sector, that foster entrepreneurial intent and cultivate entrepreneurial capability.The research setting is the information technology (IT) industries in China and Taiwan, each of which has had impressive performance when compared with their counterparts in other developing countries. This study differentiates the growth of entrepreneurial firms into three stages, getting started, getting there, and staying there, and proceeds to analyze the comparative-historical experiences of six IT firms, three in China and three in Taiwan. The firms in China are the Advanced Technology Service Division (ATSD), Lenovo Computer, and Great Wall Computer. The firms in Taiwan are United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), Acer, and Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS).
It is found that at the stage of getting started, the government tends to be key among the three sectors, and can broadly influence the firms' entrepreneurial intent by building the national institution context, and more specifically through industrial policies. At the stage of getting there, the domestic social sector becomes more salient, and can transfer technology to entrepreneurial firms either from abroad or from their own research; they can also help defend entrepreneurial firms in intellectual property disputes with multinational firms. At the stage of staying there, due to their advanced technology, multinationals as forces in the market become more prevalent, and can enhance or destroy the capability of entrepreneurial firms. Overall, the state can act as context builder, champion and confronter; the social sector can play the roles of capability builder and capability defender, while the market, via multinational firms, can play the roles of capability destroyer and capability enhancer.
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Shearer, Helen Dianne, and n/a. "Intercultural Personhood: A 'Mainstream' Australian Biographical Case Study." Griffith University. School of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, 2004. http://www4.gu.edu.au:8080/adt-root/public/adt-QGU20040921.082235.
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This thesis explores the question of intercultural personhood in two 'mainstream' Australian cases within interpersonal, intercultural relations in Australian contexts in the second half of the twentieth century. The problem is viewed through three disciplinary lenses: those of communication, psychology and sociology. A qualitative, interdisciplinary approach integrates these through an inductive biographical research design. Within cross-cultural communication studies, a host culture such as that of the Anglo-Australian majority is seen in a monolithic and static way to which Australians of other cultural backgrounds are seen to adapt. These studies give no place to the changes which members of the majority undergo. 'Intercultural personhood', a term coined by Kim (1988, 2001), describes the kinds of 'ethnic' individuals who through negotiating their identities within personal, social and mass communication contexts, both host and ethnic, move beyond the bounds of their own cultural heritage to embrace both their former cultural identity and the new 'host' (viz Australian) identity. In this thesis, the elements of cross-cultural adaptation theory and of 'intercultural personhood' are applied to the intercultural experience of 'mainstream' Australians. From preliminary memory work workshops and focus groups, the cases of two mainstream individuals who show some evidence of 'intercultural personhood' and make identity claims comparable with 'ethnic' adapters are then developed through biographical method. Their life accounts are drawn on for the exploration of issues of identity and personhood within interpersonal, intercultural relations. Major focus is given to the social psychology of Harre (1983, 1993, 1998), whose work provided both a conceptualisation and a methodological tool for the problem. In Harre's work, three dimensions of personhood, namely consciousness, agency and biography are identified together with the psycho-social processes through which an individual's identity and orientation to their culture is appropriated, transformed and publicised. This publication is then rejected or incorporated into the culture through processes of conventionalisation. These four psycho-social processes are explored in my study through an adaptation of assisted biography method (De Waele & Harre, 1979). The strength of the psycho-social approach of Harre lies in its ability to get below the surface behaviours to an analysis of the theory of self which individuals, as 'singular' beings, bring into play in their interactions within themselves and with one another. While this approach draws on social contexts to support the transformations, it is not designed to explicate to a sufficient degree the conditions under which such theories of self are activated and within which changes in identity occur and are maintained. For this reason it is essential to incorporate a sociological framework to understand the influence of the conditions within which such experiences are played out. Bourdieu's (1984, 1987) cultural, relational sociology is coupled with Harre's (1983, 1993, 1998) theory of personal and social being in that it brings together the individual and the society in a way which proves fruitful for ongoing analysis of the biographical data collected within the communication and psycho-social framework of the earlier research. Bourdieu's critique of a methodology based on biography points to the 'illusion' that is created through a biographical interview process. Taking this critique of biography into the study of interpersonal, intercultural relations meant a shift from the communication interactions and psycho-social analysis undertaken to an analysis of the various social constructions evident within the elements of the life account and a search for the cognitive imprint of social structures as durable dispositions within the persons. These dispositions are evident from within a social trajectory of the life and they are applied to the intercultural encounters recounted by the participants in their autobiographies. The addition of Bourdieu's (1984, 1987) sociology strengthens the ability to view the individual and the society through a single lens and to position the individual life course as secondary within a broader and primary analysis of social structure and social structuring as a means of interpreting lives. Its weakness lies in the degree of 'voluntariness' brought into effect as individuals both chart their course through life and are pushed and pulled by the various social forces at work within their trajectories. Within the scope of this thesis, these two approaches, that is, a psychological and a sociological one, are illustrated and incorporated into an interdisciplinary model for the study of interpersonal, intercultural relations. Further rigorous research to validate the components and the relationships of the model and to investigate these strengths and weaknesses more thoroughly is foreshadowed. This interdisciplinary model of interpersonal, intercultural relations is the major contribution of this work to the field of intercultural communication. Advances which are achieved through use of psychology, sociology and biographical research method as a tool through this study are also identified. The thesis concludes with a review of the contributions of the thesis and a discussion of the implications for future research on interpersonal, intercultural relations.
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Jenkins, Kirsten. "Discourses of energy justice : the case of nuclear energy." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/10255.
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The energy sector faces sustainability challenges that are re-working the established patterns of energy supply, distribution and consumption (Anderson et al. 2008; Haas et al. 2008; Stern 2008; Shove and Walker 2010). Amidst these challenges, socio-technical energy transitions frameworks have evolved that focus on transitions towards decarbonised, sustainable energy systems (Bridge et al. 2013). However, the ‘socio-‘ or social is typically missing as we confront climate and energy risks in a moral vacuum (Sovacool et al. 2016). The energy justice framework provides a structure to think about such energy dilemmas. However, the full extent and diversity of justice implications within the energy system have been neglected. Thus, borrowing from and advancing the framework this research explores how energy justice is being articulated with attention to three emergent areas of growth, the themes of: (1) time, (2) systems component and (3) actor. It does so through a case study of nuclear energy, which was chosen because of its points of enquiry with regards to these three areas of growth, and its historical and on-going importance in the UK energy mix. Using results from 36 semi-structured interviews with non-governmental organisations and policy actors across two case studies representative of the nuclear energy stages of energy production and of waste storage, disposal and reprocessing – the Hinkley Point and Sellafield nuclear complexes – this research presents new insights within each of these previously identified areas of development. It offers the contributions of (1) facility lifecycles, (2) systems approaches and (3) the question of ‘justice by whom?' and concludes that the energy justice framework can aid energy decision-making in a way that not only mitigates the environmental impacts of energy via socio-technical change, but also does so in an ethically defensible, socially just, way.
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LAW, Yuen Fun Muriel. "Cultivating identities and differences : a case study of the Hong Kong junior secondary economic and public affairs curriculum." Digital Commons @ Lingnan University, 2006. https://commons.ln.edu.hk/cs_etd/10.
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This thesis studies the junior secondary EPA curriculum and the complex cultural process of teaching and learning of the curriculum. It draws on theoretical frameworks developed in the field of cultural studies and critical pedagogy, particularly works by Michel Foucault, Stuart Hall, Lawrence Grossberg and Paulo Freire. It investigates how the EPA curricular texts attempt to produce the identity characteristic of "rational, sensitive and active citizens" in contemporary Hong Kong through constructing differences that negate the Other. Through analyzing classroom discursive practices, the thesis examines how the curricular knowledge "interpellates" teachers into subject position to talk about the "rational, sensitive and active citizens".
The curriculum is a vast textual world where different and even competing ideological imperatives and discourses coexist and circulate. This thesis argues that teachers' discourses about the EPA curriculum and their classroom discursive practices have contributed to the creation of tensions and contradictions within the curriculum discourse. Such tensions and contradictions, coming from teachers' beliefs and the cultural resources they possess, may delimit the regulatory effect of the curriculum discourse. As a result, the regulatory power of the curriculum discourse on "suturing" subject positions that form identities of "citizens" is subject to negotiation, and critical pedagogies have a role to play to open up dialogues among the subject positions made available in the curriculum.
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Horan, Kevin. "Evaluating the Energy Returns of Investment-Based Incentive Programs: The Case of Oregon's Business Energy Tax Credits." Thesis, University of Oregon, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1794/11992.
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x, 59 p.Governments around the world provide financial incentives to encourage renewable energy generation and energy conservation. The primary goals of these efforts are to mitigate climate change and improve long-term energy independence by reducing reliance on fossil fuels. The consensus in the energy incentive literature is that performance-based incentives, which fund energy output, are more cost efficient than investment-based incentives, which fund capital input. This thesis uses a 30-year case study of Oregon's Business Energy Tax Credit (BETC) program to argue that investment-based energy incentives are moderately cost efficient relative to other state performance-based incentives and can be an effective driver of clean energy deployment. However, this analysis also finds that there are significant opportunities to improve the cost efficiency of investment-based energy incentive programs by targeting least cost projects. Namely, 50% of the first year kilowatt-hour electricity returns of the BETC program could have been achieved at 10% of the cost. These lessons from historical BETC spending should guide policymakers, NGO.s, and businesses who aim to make targeted use of fiscally-constrained energy incentive programs.
Committee in charge: Laura Leete, Chair; Ron Mitchell, Member; Grant Jacobsen, Member
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Williams, Richard A. Sr. "Post-Katrina Retention of Law Enforcement Officers: A Case Study of the New Orleans Police Department." ScholarWorks@UNO, 2018. https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/2500.
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This dissertation is a case study of the New Orleans Police Department and identified factors that affected the retention of law enforcement officers post-Hurricane Katrina. The NOPD was chosen because the agency was an extreme case and experienced the unprecedented separation of over 300 officers during and post- Hurricane Katrina. The variables examined included tenure, age, salary, education, and job satisfaction, as well as, race, sex, marital status, and New Orleans residency.
This research is significant because in a time of decreasing budgets and increased cost to replace employees, where skills are scarce and knowledge is important, recruitment is costly, and it takes time to fill vacancies, turnover can be problematic (Loquercio, 2006). Hurricane Katrina was an unprecedented catastrophic disaster unlike any event experienced by a local police department. The impact accelerated the attrition of New Orleans Police Department officers at a time when the agency and community needed them the most. In addition to normal retention challenges experienced by law enforcement, post-Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Police Department experienced separation of almost a fourth of its agency post-Hurricane Katrina. This was very problematic and forced the department to operate severely short-staffed at a time when the department was trying to provide essential services to the community and recover from the storm’s affect at the same time. This dissertation explored some of the causes of attrition, examined the attrition of the NOPD pre-and post-Hurricane Katrina, and reasons most officers stayed. It was important to identify lessons learned from an agency and officers who experienced a disaster and unprecedented attrition of officers first hand. The consequences of such significant attrition will take years to overcome, especially in light of the New Orleans Police Department’s pre-and post-Hurricane Katrina recruitment and retention challenges.
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Hendriks, Carolyn Maree, and C. M. Hendriks@uva nl. "Public Deliberation and Interest Organisations: a Study of Responses to Lay Citizen Engagement in Public Policy." The Australian National University. Research School of Social Sciences, 2004. http://thesis.anu.edu.au./public/adt-ANU20050921.103047.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis empirically examines how lobby groups and activists respond to innovative forms of public participation. The study centres on processes that foster a particular kind
of deliberative governance including citizens’ juries, consensus conferences and planning cells. These deliberative designs bring together a panel of randomly selected lay citizens
to deliberate on a specific policy issue for a few days, with the aim of providing decision makers with a set of recommendations. While policy makers worldwide are attracted to these novel participatory processes, little consideration has been given to how well they work alongside more adversarial and interest-based politics. This doctoral research project examines this interface by studying what these processes mean to different kinds of policy actors such as corporations, advocacy groups, government agencies, experts
and professionals. These entities are collectively referred to in this thesis as ‘interest organisations’ because in some way they are seeking a specific policy outcome from the
state – even government-based groups.¶
The empirical research in this thesis is based on comparative case studies of four deliberative design projects in Australia and Germany. The Australian cases include a citizens’ jury on waste management legislation and a consensus conference on gene
technology in the food chain. The German case studies include a planning cells project on consumer protection in Bavaria, and a national consensus conference on genetic diagnostics. Together the cases capture a diversity of complex and contested policy
issues facing post-industrialised societies. In each case study, I examine how relevant interest organisations responded to the deliberative forum, and then interpret these responses in view of the context and features of the case.¶
The picture emerging from the in-depth case studies is that interest organisations respond to deliberative designs in a variety of ways. Some choose to participate actively,
others passively decline, and a few resort to strategic tactics to undermine citizens’ deliberations. The empirical research reveals that though responses are variable, most
interest organisations are challenged by several features of the deliberative design model including: 1) that deliberators are citizens with no knowledge or association with the
issue; 2) that experts and interest representatives are required to present their arguments before a citizens’ panel; and 3) that policy discussions occur under deliberative conditions which can expose the illegitimate use of power.¶
Despite these challenges, the paradox is that many interest organisations do decide to engage in lay citizen deliberations. The empirical research indicates that groups and experts value deliberative designs if they present an opportunity for public relations, customer feedback, or advocacy. Moreover, the research finds that when policy actors
intensively engage with ‘ordinary’ citizens, their technocratic and elite ideas about public participation can shift in a more inclusive and deliberative direction.¶
The thesis finds that, on the whole, weaker interest organisations are more willing to engage with lay citizens than stronger organisations because they welcome the chance to influence public debate and decision makers. It appears that powerful groups will only
engage in a deliberative forum under certain policy conditions, for example, when the dominant policy paradigm is unstable and contested, when public discussion on the issue is emerging, when policy networks are interdependent and heterogeneous, and when the broader social and political system supports public accountability, consensus and
deliberation. Given that these kinds of policy conditions do not always exist, I conclude that tensions between interest organisations and deliberative governance will be common. In order to create more cooperative and productive interfaces, I recommend
that interest organisations be better supported and integrated into citizens’ deliberations, and that steps be taken to safeguard forums from strategic attempts to undermine their
legitimacy.¶
The thesis also sends out three key messages to democratic theorists. First, the empirical research shows that different kinds of groups and actors in civil society vary in their
willingness and capacity to participate to public deliberation. Second, the deliberative design model demonstrates that partisan actors, such as interest organisations, will engage in public deliberation when they can participate as strategic deliberators. In this role
partisans are not expected to relinquish their agendas, but present them as testimonies before a group of deliberators. Third, the empirical research in this thesis should bring
home to theorists that deliberative forums are closely linked to the discursive context within which they operate.
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Takano, Kaori. "Corporate Japan Goes to School: Case Studies Examining Corporate Involvement in Public Schools in Japan." University of Dayton / OhioLINK, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=dayton1311782967.
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Haukka, Sandra, and s. haukka@qut edu au. "Research training and national innovation systems in Australia, Finland and the United States: a policy and systems study supported by 30 case studies of research students in the fields of geospatial science, wireless communication, biosciences, and materials science and engineering." RMIT University. Education, 2006. http://adt.lib.rmit.edu.au/adt/public/adt-VIT20061109.120913.
Full textAbstract:
Reforms to the national research and research training system by the Commonwealth Government of Australia sought to effectively connect research conducted in universities to Australia's national innovation system. Research training has a key role in ensuring an adequate supply of highly skilled people for the national innovation system. During their studies, research students produce and disseminate a massive amount of new knowledge. Prior to this study, there was no research that examined the contribution of research training to Australia's national innovation system despite the existence of policy initiatives aiming to enhance this contribution. Given Australia's below average (but improving) innovation performance compared to other OECD countries, the inclusion of Finland and the United States provided further insights into the key research question. This study examined three obvious ways that research training contributes to the national innovation systems in the three countries: the international mobility and migration of research students and graduates, knowledge production and distribution by research students, and the impact of research training as advanced human capital formation on economic growth. Findings have informed the concept of a research training culture of innovation that aims to enhance the contribution of research training to Australia's national innovation system. Key features include internationally competitive research and research training environments; research training programs that equip students with economically-relevant knowledge and the capabilities required by employers operating in knowledge-based economies; attractive research careers in different sectors; a national commitment to R&D as indicated by high levels of gross and business R&D expenditure; high private and social rates of return from research training; and the horizontal coordination of key organisations that create policy for, and/or invest in research training.
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Neil, Howard. "'It's easier if we stop them moving' : a critical analysis of anti-child trafficking discourse, policy and practice : the case of southern Benin." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:11094e72-496e-4b99-ba15-6b19e6efc490.
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This thesis offers a critical assessment of anti- child trafficking discourse, policy and practice, using a case study of the situation in Southern Benin. It seeks to achieve two main goals. First, to transcend the reductiveness of the dominant paradigm around child trafficking, including dominant representations of it and prevailing policy approaches to dealing with it. Second, to complicate the simplistic nature of much of the academic literature that explains the existence and persistence of this dominant paradigm. Based on 14 months of multi-sited fieldwork, the thesis demonstrates, first, that the institutional narrative of ‘child trafficking’ misrepresents what would be better understood as adolescent labour migration in Benin, and second, that mainstream policy approaches to tackling this fail to account for the sociocultural or political-economic conditions that underpin it. The thesis suggests that this can be interpreted as a result of the power of three framing orders of discourse – ‘Apollonian Childhood’, Neoliberalism and that of the Westphalian State – which structure both what ‘trafficking’ can mean and what can be done about it. The thesis suggests that the material and power structures of the anti-trafficking discourse- and policy-making field are such that, even where individuals within it reject both the dominant paradigm and its (and the field’s) framing orders of discourse, little space exists for them to construct meaningful alternatives. The result is a degree of formal and representational stability, hiding practical hybridity. The conclusion is offered that, while anti-trafficking discourse is presumed to be accurate and while antitrafficking policy is justified in terms of its contribution to ‘beneficiaries’, theprinciple achievement of both is the depoliticised reproduction of the institutions, orders of discourse and political-economic context within which they are constructed.
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Pietsch, Susan Mary. "The effective use of three dimensional visualisation modelling in the routine development control of urban environments : a thesis submitted to Adelaide University in candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy." Title page, contents and abstract only, 2001. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09php626.pdf.
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"June 2001." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 346-352) Investigates technical and cultural issues in using three dimensional computer visualisation modelling in a busy Australian city planning office, the local Council of the City of Adelaide, taking two directions: a modelling approach that emphasizes abstract, quick to create 3D models; and, by examining the social and organizational issues. This dual view paints a broader picture of the potential of 3D modelling within planning practice including the impediments and possible solutions to them.