Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Development practice'
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SOARES, ADRIANA DE OLIVEIRA. "SOCIAL SERVICE AND MENTAL HEALTH: THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PRACTICE OR PRACTICE IN DEVELOPMENT?" PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2006. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=9543@1.
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CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOA presente dissertação traz uma reflexão sobre a prática do Serviço Social em sua relação com o campo da saúde mental, a partir do discurso dos assistentes sociais inseridos nos serviços de saúde mental do município de Niterói. O estudo, de cunho qualitativo, buscou conhecer como vem se desenvolvendo a prática do Serviço Social na Saúde Mental, suas especificidades, desafios e contribuição para um campo que se reconhece como interdisciplinar. Para tal, reportamo-nos para a história da profissão e sua relação com este campo de atuação, refletindo sobre os marcos teóricos do Movimento da Reforma Psiquiátrica brasileira e suas implicações na prática profissional. Com apoio na Sociologia das Profissões, procurou-se compreender o processo de profissionalização do Serviço Social, os desafios e entraves enfrentados por seus profissionais no campo em questão. A analise realizada evidencia que os profissionais entrevistados consideram que o Campo da Saúde Mental lhes exige uma atitude de maior flexibilidade para com suas intervenções, o que não deixa de ter seu preço, na medida em que implica em uma indefinição quanto à posição ocupada pela profissão no referido campo.
This present dissertation brings forward a reflection about the practice of Social Service and its connection with the mental health field, taking as a starting point the speech of social workers that are involved in mental health services in the city of Niterói. This study, of quantitative purpose, has sought to know how the practice of Social Service has developed in Mental Health, its specifications, challenges and contribution to a field that is known for its interdisciplinary quality. To accomplish it, we refer back to the history of the profession and its relation with this field, reflecting on the theoretical marks of the Brazil`s Movement for Psychiatric Reform and its implications in professional practice. We have sought to understand the process of the professionalization of Social Service, the challenges and hindrances faced by their professionals in the Mental Health field with the help of the Sociology of Professions. The analysis undertaken shows that interviewed professionals consider that the Mental Health field demands a more flexible attitude in their interventions, which indicates they have to pay a price, given that it means to not have the position they occupy defined in the referred field.
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Talucci, Sam. "Leadership development as reflexive practice." Thesis, University of Hertfordshire, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2299/8966.
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This thesis examines Leadership Development in both a corporate setting and an expedition-based setting. The assumptions that are the foundations of current Leadership Development originate, and are informed by, aspects of the natural sciences. These methods are critiqued in terms of usability and applicability in the context of human relating. An alternative approach is investigated based on nonlinear causality and the complex responsive process of relating using the work of Stacey (2003, 2007, 2010), Stacey and Griffin (2005), Stacey et al. (2000). What is explored is the Leader as expert and the ability through communication, decision making, and planning to create certainty. What is problematized is the fantasy that this creates in ongoing day-to-day interactions. The work explores interactions between a leadership consultant/coach and clients in varied domains: the role of the practitioner in the delivery and creation of theory, models, best practices and standard operating procedures; and the reflections of both the practitioner and clients that what is emerging cannot be foreseen. This leads to a further exploration cycle of the human experience in organizations and how reification, the uncanny, and the struggle for recognition might offer other ways of making sense of the experience. The work examines the role of the consultant/teacher and the client/student and the emergence of knowledge. It further investigates the relationship of time and causality and how this is connected to theoretical knowledge and knowledge in action. This leads to a further connection of thinking, reflecting and reflexivity and what this means as practice for leadership development. Using the context of leadership coaching for management teams and connecting the reflexive aspect of knowledge, what is argued is that sensemaking as developed by Weick (1995, 2001, 2009), Weick and Sutcliffe (2007) is not a sufficient practice to explain and create best practices, standard operating procedures, models, and theories. What is also necessary, and is identified as sensemaking and connected to Elias (1987) work, is our own involvement and detachment as we abstract to understand what is happening in the moment between human agents. It is argued that paying attention to these aspects of ongoing human relating offer the possibility of thicker and a more contextualized understanding of the emergent unpredictable outcomes that leaders deal with every day.
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Hwati, Lucky. "Participatory development (PD): NGOs and developmental practice in Zimbabwe." Thesis, University of Fort Hare, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1015315.
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The rising to prominence of Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs) as essential partners to development was as a result of a shift in development authority into decentralized governance. Prior to this, the state was the central player in development. At liberation from political colonial control, most African governments adopted a centralized governance system. This meant that even in their drive to eco-socio development the state was the sole and most important driver. As explained by Allen (1995), in order to keep their grip on power, African leaders invented different solutions. Among them was an amplified centralization of its administrative device, or the creation of a centralized bureaucratic organization. Indeed, from 1960, the majority of African leaders banned political competition and instituted one-party regimes under which an ever-expanding bureaucracy was used to distribute resources to political allies, often under the form of membership in administrative positions (Allen, 1995). It was this need to keep a firm grip on power which saw most governments spearheading their own development, with NGOs playing a peripheral role. In the second instance, the state was instrumental in leading development. Throughout Africa, numerous government boards and ministries were created, each with a specific role to play in development (Willis, 2011; Allen, 1995). In the same way, most governments instituted policies and plans, with specific time frames, where certain development targets were supposed to be met. This system was adopted and became more pronounced in countries such as Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
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Cherry, N. L., and n. cherry@netspace net au. "Developing reflective practice." RMIT University. Management, 1995. http://adt.lib.rmit.edu.au/adt/public/adt-VIT20090512.103243.
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This study explores how reflection upon oneself and one's own behaviour assists people - and, in particular, managers - to develop. Reflective techniques are examined in the context of action-learning (Revans, 1980 and Marsick, 1992) and are argued to be a powerful means of creating self-understanding, which in turn creates opportunities for self-directed personal change. Reflective techniques are also examined as a means of developing the personal craft or praxis of those who try to assist the development of managers, and as a technique for use in action research (Lewin, 1946) and the development of collective knowledge. Schon's (1987) concept of the 'reflective practitioner' provided a major theoretical foundation for this work. The study employed action research and action learning methodologies. The researcher spent six years honing her understanding and application of reflective techniques in assisting the development of managers. She also applied self-reflection to the development of her own praxis over that time. One result of the study has been the enhancement of the practical, reflection-based techniques used by the writer to facilitate the development of managers - and more importantly, offered to them to facilitate their own continuing development. Hopefully, these techniques will be of value to other practitioners in this field. A second outcome has been the review and refinement of some of the theoretical constructs used by this writer and other practitioners and theorists which help to describe and explain the phenomenon of reflection-based behavioural change. A third outcome has been the documentation of a case-study in the application of reflective techniques to the development of personal praxis, tracking the integration of conceptual understanding and technique. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the rationale, scope, methodology and outcomes of this study. Chapter 2 explores reflection as a technique for research and the development of collective knowledge, and incorporates a review of the relevant literature. Chapters 3 and 5 examine reflection as a tool for learning, drawing on the literature and tracking the development of the researcher's own understanding. Chapter 4 describes how the researcher learned to use reflective learning techniques when working with others and follows the gradual integration of her understanding with her practice. Chapter 6 summarises and reflects upon both the processes and the outcomes of the research.
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Wihtol, Robert. "The Asian Development Bank and rural development : policy and practice." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1987. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.236142.
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Hirtz, Janine Renee Marie. "Teacher professional development and communities of practice." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/2802.
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The larger research project seeks to examine the role of technology and factors that
influence its overall use and efficacy in supporting a community of teachers engaged in
professional development. This thesis examines factors that appear to influence teacher
participation in the online community of practice engaging in an overarching research project
conducted by Dr. Balcaen and a team from UBC O Faculty of Education and funded by the
Southern Alberta Professional Development Consortium (SAPDC). The two groups are
acting in partnership for supporting and sustaining communities of practice in social studies
in southern Alberta. SAPDC is allowing teachers release time to engage in the project while
TC² is providing professional development for the participant teachers to become proficient
at embedding TC² critical thinking tools into their classroom practices. Various technologies
are used during this study as part of the design of providing professional development for the
participants including supporting an online community presence. The guiding question for
this thesis is: In a blended approach of face-to-face and online supported professional
development for embedding critical thinking into the new social studies curriculum, what
significant factors appear to influence teacher participation in the online community of
practice during the first year of the project?
Overall results during the first year of this project show that various technologies
used during the project are valuable and effective in nurturing this community of practice by
enabling and promoting collaboration, communication, and the completion and delivery of
products to be used in teaching the new curriculum. I also examine negative factors that
appear to prevent some teachers’ technology use and online participation and collaboration
during this project. Findings show that there are several significant factors that influence
participation in the online community and while some participants are reluctant to engage or
enter the online environment, others have emerged as leaders and play a significant role in
building and sustaining the community of practice. These results provide critical information
about implementing and integrating an online component and using technology to sustain
communities of practice engaged in this form of teacher professional development.
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Amidu, Abdul-Rasheed. "Expertise development in commercial property valuation practice." Thesis, Birmingham City University, 2016. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.719996.
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Ever since the issue of inaccuracy and variance in commercial property valuation was first documented in the mid-80s by Brown (1985) and Hager and Lord (1985), many researchers have investigated the complex factors involved in effective problem solving in the valuation domain, focusing on the valuer and the valuation process. Several behavioural issues, including heuristics, have been noted to affect valuation outcomes. There is a growing literature on understanding the concept of expertise, especially using the field of cognitive psychology, and the present research explores valuer’s cognitions in a commercial valuation context. The study aimed to determine how the role of valuers’ cognitions and cognitive structures are crucial in furthering our understanding of effective valuation problem solving, as well as improving valuer training efforts. The research was undertaken from a ‘Critical Realist’ perspective, and used a knowledge elicitation method called ‘Cognitive Task Analysis’. Data were collected through a ‘Verbal Protocol Analysis’ (VPA) of a simulated commercial valuation exercise based on a real building, using semi-structured interviews. Six subjects (comprising two expert valuers, two intermediate valuers and two novice valuers) participated in the simulated valuation and in the follow-up interviews. Two further experts were interviewed to validate the findings.
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Oswald, W. Andrew (William Andrew). "Understanding technology development processes theory & practice." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/90699.
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Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, System Design and Management Program, 2013.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 75-77).
Technology development is hard for management to understand and hard for practitioners to explain, however it is an essential component of innovation. While there are standard and predictable processes for product development, many of these techniques don't apply well to technology development. Are there common processes for technology development that can make it predictable, or is it unpredictable like basic research and invention? In this thesis, after building a foundation by looking at product development processes, I survey some of the literature on technology development processes and compare them to a handful of case studies from a variety of industries. I then summarize the observations from the cases and build a generic model for technology development that can be used to provide insights into how to monitor and manage technology projects. One of the observations from the product development literature is that looping and iteration is problematic for establishing accurate schedules which becomes one of the fundamental disconnects between management and engineering. Technologists rely heavily on iteration as a tool for gaining knowledge and combined with other risks, technology development may appear "out of control". To mitigate these risks, technologists have developed a variety of approaches including: building a series of prototypes of increasing fidelity and using them as a form of communication, simultaneously developing multiple technologies as a hedge against failure or predicting and developing technologies they think will be needed outside of formal channels. Finally, I use my model to provide some insights as to how management can understand technology development projects. This gives technologists and non-technical managers a common ground for communication.
by W. Andrew Oswald.
S.M. in Engineering and Management
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Nieman, A. J. "Social development and women : theory and practice." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/53057.
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Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2002ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This research investigates the social development approach from the viewpoint of developing an understanding of the applicability thereof in a social work environment in a South African context. Based on the level of underdevelopment in the country, the social development process, which involves a dynamic multi-disciplinary approach with a strong emphasis on the positive outcomes of growth and empowerment, is thought to offer a wide range of possible fields of application. To provide clarity and gain insight into the dimensions and elements involved, different aspects of the South African and international scenarios provide a background for the arguments promoting the social development approach as a positive intervention for the helping professions. The purpose of this research is to broaden the field of knowledge for practitioners and organisations dealing with poverty and deprivation by providing an extension of options in practice models. The research report includes an investigation of the elements and concepts associated with social development, with particular emphasis on the role of women. Knowledge and understanding of these concepts will assist in widening the horizons of field workers and assist in deciding on appropriate responses when faced with the problems of South Africa and its apartheid legacy. Development in the South African context is examined with the focus on the main role players, namely government and the welfare sector. Recurring themes in development programmes that have been identified as elements for success are described by means of case examples from good international practice models. The applicability of many of these cases should serve as stimuli for instituting initiatives in local situations of need. The empirical research used the qualitative method to examine, by means of focus groups, the effects of the identified elements in five social development projects in the Western Cape. The focus groups were conducted with the aid of open-ended question guides. The findings and responses of the focus group respondents were analysed and discussed in relation to findings described in the literature by various authors. It is believed that the findings of this research can be utilised as practical guidelines for instituting and running social development projects by social workers, as well as practitioners from other fields, to address the problems of poverty and underdevelopment in the country by paying special attention to the role of women in such projects.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie navorsing ondersoek die maatskaplike ontwikkeling benadering met die oog daarop om 'n begrip te kry van die toepaslikheid daarvan in 'n maatskaplike werkomgewing in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks. Die toestand van onderontwikkeling in die land het tot gevolg dat die maatskaplike ontwikkelingsproses, wat 'n sterk multi-dissiplinêre benadering behels en positiewe gevolge van groei en bemagtiging beklemtoon, waarskynlik 'n wye veld van toepassingsgeleenthede bied. Ten einde duidelikheid en insig te kry oor die omvang van die veld en die beginsels wat ter sprake is, word die argumente wat die maatskaplike ontwikkeling benadering ondersteun teen die agtergrond van verskillende aspekte van Suid-Afrikaanse en internasionale toestande bespreek. Die doel van die navorsing is om die kennisveld van maatskaplike werk en organisasies wat te doen het met armoede en verwaarlosing te verbreed en die keuses van praktykmodelle uit te brei. Die navorsingsverslag sluit 'n ondersoek in van konsepte en elemente waarmee maatskaplike ontwikkeling geassosieer word, met die klem op die rol van vroue. Kennis en begrip van die toepassing van hierdie konsepte sal veldwerkers se horisonne verbreed en help met besluitneming oor gepaste diensleweringsmodelle wanneer met die probleme van Suid-Afrika en die gevolge van apartheid gekonfronteer word. Ontwikkeling in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks word ondersoek met die klem op die hoof rolspelers in die veld, nl. die regering en die welsynsektor. Herhalende temas in internasionale ontwikkelingsprogramme as elemente van sukses is geïdentifiseer en word beskryf d.m.v. gevallestudies van internasionale goeie praktyke. Die toepaslikheid van baie van hierdie gevallestudies behoort as aanmoediging te dien vir inisiatiewe op plaaslike vlak. Vir die empiriese ondersoek, is gebruik gemaak van die kwalitatiewe metode om, d.m.v. fokusgroepe by vyf projekte in die Wes-Kaap, die effektiwiteit van die geïdentifiseerde elemente vir sukses te toets. Die fokusgroepe is gelei aan die hand van 'n oop vraelys. Die reaksies van die deelnemers aan die fokusgroep is verwerk en in die konteks van die literatuurstudie bespreek. Dit word aanvaar dat die bevindings van die navorsing deur maatskaplike werkers en ander dissiplines gebruik kan word as praktiese riglyne by die beplanning en loodsing van maatskaplike ontwikkeling projekte in die bekamping van armoede en onderontwikkeling, met spesiale aandag aan die rol van vroue.
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Osborn, Teri L. "HOW TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDES INSTRUCTIONAL PRACTICE." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2016. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/307.
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Technology integration for today’s classroom has been characterized as insufficient for today’s global society. Teachers need better training programs or professional development specifically focusing on integrating technology into instructional practice. This study examined the technology professional development experiences with regard to educational technology integration to determine how much exposure and level of perceived quality of Technology Professional Development (TPD) received by teachers, the characteristics of TPD, integration levels of technology and perceived readiness for technology integration.
An online survey instrument was developed and used to collect data from 100 teachers of grades K-12 from all disciplines: science, math, language arts, fine arts, social science, and multi-grade or multi-discipline classes. Items on the survey included five-point Likert scale measures to establish levels of technology integration and TPD participation. Additionally, a researcher-designed interview protocol collected information from 10 volunteer participants that completed the survey to gather more details about technology TPD experiences, teacher technology self-efficacy and integration of technology into the classroom. The survey results were analyzed using SPSS software. A Pearson’s correlation was computed to evaluate the relationship between TPD and Technology Integration. Results show a positive correlation between the two variables (r = .651, p < 0.01). Overall, the data supported the strong correlation between Technology Professional Development and Technology Integration.
The qualitative data were analyzed using the ATLAS.ti program that revealed emerging themes regarding professional development experiences, the perceived levels of technology integration, and perceived changes in self-efficacy The results show that technology was being integrated in instruction and learning at moderate levels in the schools. Qualitative responses supported the statistical results. Participants expressed positive feelings regarding progress of technology integration in the classroom. Concerns regarding technology integration barriers such as lack of time for TPD, quality of TPD and access to devices in the classroom were present and will need to be addressed to ensure technology infusion in the classroom and curriculum. According to the data collected and analysis of the results, this study showed that as a whole, technology professional development is providing a positive guide for the integration of technology into today’s classrooms.
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Olwan, Rami M. "Intellectual property and development : theory and practice." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2011. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/54839/1/Rami_Olwan_Thesis.pdf.
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Since the 1960s, many developing countries have introduced IP laws to help them in their social and economic development. Introducing these laws was considered as a civilised act and a precondition of developing countries‘ progress from being =under-developed‘ to becoming =developed‘. In 2004, Brazil and Argentina presented a comprehensive proposal on behalf of developing countries to establish the Development Agenda in the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). They put forward a view that IP laws in their current form are not helping those countries in their development, as is constantly being suggested by developed countries, and that there is a need to rethink the international IP system and the work of WIPO.
The research undertaken examines the correlation between IP and social and economic development. It investigates how IP systems in developing countries could work to advance their development, especially in the context of the internet. The research considers the theory and practice of IP and development, and proposes a new IP framework which developing countries could employ to further their social and economic development.
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Richmond, Pam, and n/a. "The more things change : enhancing the capacity of teachers to change their classroom practice." University of Canberra. Education, 1997. http://erl.canberra.edu.au./public/adt-AUC20061107.130304.
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The major issue of this thesis is that for effective change in teachers'
classroom practice to occur, multiple actions are required at different
levels of participation, from federal and state education jurisdictions
through to school communities and individual classroom teachers. The
thesis supposition is that practical action factors in schools and the
community can be found which meet the needs of the change.
The history of attempts to achieve educational change through changed
classroom practice is littered with a range of different approaches, usually
one-off events. They have sometimes succeeded. Stakeholders, including
parents, social pressure groups and particularly governments have
increasing expectations of what it is that teachers can achieve in terms of
their students' learning outcomes. The degree to which actual teaching
practices are changed at the classroom level will depend on the degree to
which teachers are able to manage and implement change. However,
studies in the area of curriculum change reveal that the gap between
policy and practice remains an ongoing concern.
This thesis draws upon theory and applied research findings from the
traditions of educational change, health education, models of change,
evaluation and social science research methods. The purpose of this
thesis is to identify and make comparisons in the practical action factors
which enhance the capacity of teachers to change their classroom practice.
These are investigated through a multiple case study consideration of the
school context, the professional development inputs, and the classroom
programs. The patterns of effective practical action in the research study
would support the thesis supposition.
A multiple case study-theory building approach was used to analyse the
data from twelve school sites selected from the School Development in
Health Education (SDHE) Project. Data analysis employed the technique
of matrix displays, with several rounds of analysis in order to generate
some significant factors related to teacher change. The results were
considered for endorsement by an expert panel from the field in order to
enhance confidence in the validity and the reliability of the research
study.
Results from first round of analysis in the multiple case study showed
school team commitment, teachers' attitude to professional development
and community cooperation to be important factors in educational
change. The second round of analysis highlighted the importance of
placing the teacher at the centre of change when planning professional
development. Finally, the third round presents a summary of the factors
emerging from the analyses in five major focus areas: professional
development; principal leadership; school organisation and culture;
school team; and system support. The importance of the relationships
among these factors was recognised in their impact on teachers' abilities to
make educational changes in their classrooms.
The thesis has found that the professional decision-making and practice
of teachers is value added by the actions of other players - professional
development providers, school principals and education systems.
Teachers' capacity to change is enhanced by appropriate school-based
professional development, flexible school organisation, and the
opportunity to work collaboratively in school teams.
From the patterns emerging from the strong and weak clusters of cases
the thesis is able to make conclusions about teachers' professional practice,
professional development approaches, principal leadership, school
organisation, education systems and the nature of change. This thesis
shows that educational change requires multiple actions at different
levels of participation. Finally, the thesis offers recommendations to the
different players in the field: education systems, principals and
professional development providers.
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Steyn, G. M. "Interpreting the leadership practice of a South African school using the leaderful practice model." Journal for New Generation Sciences, Vol 11, Issue 1: Central University of Technology, Free State, Bloemfontein, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/11462/631.
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Published ArticleLiterature reveals the crucial influence of school leadership on the creation and maintenance of successful schools. In searching for new foundations to understand leadership, Raelin's leaderful practice model serves as an authentic model to describe a successful South African leadership practice. A qualitative study was used to interpret school leadership in primary schools through the lens of the leaderful practice model. The following observations emerged from the study: "It is passion that makes people succeed in life"; "It isn't my school, it's our school"; and "Development has to be an integral part of education". By sharing the leadership experiences of the principal, this study could serve as a valuable resource and promote the creation of other leaderful practices in South African schools.
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Mdee, (nee Toner) Anna L., and Tom R. Franks. "Putting livelihoods thinking into practice: implications for development management." Bradford Centre for International Development, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/2892.
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YesThe failure of `blueprint¿ development interventions to deliver substantive improvements in poverty reduction has been well recognised over the last twenty years. Process approaches seek to overcome the rigidity and top-down operation of much aid-funded intervention. Sustainable livelihoods approaches (SLA) are one of the latest additions to this family of approaches. As a theoretical framework and as a set of principles for guiding intervention, sustainable livelihoods thinking has implications for development management. Drawing on research exploring the application of sustainable livelihoods principles in ten development interventions, this paper considers how these principles have evolved from continuing debates surrounding process and people-centred (bottom-up) approaches to development management. This research suggests that whilst these principles can improve the impact made by interventions, the effective application of sustainable livelihoods and other process approaches are fundamentally restricted by unbalanced power relationships between development partners.
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Kacela, Xolani. "Seasoned faith relationality, practice, and community /." Fort Worth, TX : [Texas Christian University], 2008. http://etd.tcu.edu/etdfiles/available/etd-04212009-091411/unrestricted/Kacela.pdf.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University, 2008.Title from dissertation title page (viewed May 4, 2009). At head of title: Brite Divinity School. Includes abstract. "Dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Brite Divinity School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Pastoral Theology and Pastoral Counseling." Includes bibliographical references.
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Chimbera, Admire Phineas. "Impact of apostolic beliefs and practices on community development in rural community in Zimbabwe : implications for social work practice." Thesis, University of Limpopo, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10386/1962.
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MEIDLER, CLAUDIO. "CSR in Practice." Thesis, Högskolan i Borås, Akademin för textil, teknik och ekonomi, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-137.
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Purpose – The purpose of this work is to examine the actual CSR situation in low wage countries of the textile industry and to identify obstacles and suggestions for improvements of the working conditions. In order to achieve that approach, different sources and various articles, magazines, books and related websites are being researched to get a wide range of information and to avoid a partial reflection. Furthermore an exemplary discussion of the CSR activities of two leading fashion retailers, Bestseller and H&M will be implemented by having a look on their company homepages as well as their current and previous annual reports and stated CSR activities. In addition, interviews with international operating NGO’s, fair trade unions and human right foundations will be conducted to receive widely independent information, deeper insights and critics concerning CSR and Human Development in the textile business. These interviews are of crucial importance for this work, since they provide widely independent assessments of the actual state of CSR implementation within the industry. By considering all the different information, this work provides ultimately indications for grievances and proposals for improvements in Human Development. Methodology – Using a qualitative research strategy, this work begins with a definition of CSR and Human Development, which provides a necessary background knowledge to approach CSR in the textile business. In order to get an idea of some of the industry wide activities and obstacles, this work contains an exemplary description of the CSR work of the two leading fashion retailers, Bestseller and H&M, using their company home pages as well as their current and previous annual reports and an outline of their reflection of the current stage of affairs regarding Human Development. Based on the findings from the homepages of H&M and Bestseller and the companies’ claim, different researched articles and the latest accidents in the news, eleven different interview questions were developed, regarding the actual textile production situation in the RGM industry. These questions are being used for semi-structured in-depth interviews with three different experts of the International Labour Organization, the German NGO Südwind Institute and the Confederation of the German Textile and Fashion Industry to get first hand information about the already achieved progress of the working conditions, as well as crucial driving forces and challenges within the Human Development “sector” of CSR in low wage countries. By considering all the different information, this work finally reveals grievances in CSR and gives proposals for improving the working conditions of the textile factory workers in emerging countries. Findings – The findings show the complexity and necessity of a controversy about CSR approaches in the textile and garment sector of developing countries. Recent accidents and different investigations by independent organizations are supporting the impression of an existing gap between the CSR policies of fashion companies on the one hand and the reality in the firms on the other hand. Different NGO’s are complaining about insufficiently implemented approaches and Codes of fashion brands and retailers within the supply chain. This work provides different suggestions for improving the working conditions of the textile factory workers in emerging countries. Possible ways for a human friendlier textile production are for example the strengthening of trade unions and worker advocacies, the ensuring of a social dialogue and closer collaborations between all the different stakeholders within the industry - including the governments, as well as more legal bindings and stricter regulations. Research limitations/ implications – The findings from this study are limited to the “sector” of Human Development and most of the results or hypotheses are not conclusively audited, due to the difficult validation. Additionally, the study is mainly focusing on the worker situation in selected low wage countries and does not provide global conclusions. Further research should aim to gain even further insights, for instance on a local company or local supplier level.
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Pulhin, Juan M., and jpulhin@laguna net. "Community Forestry: Paradoxes and Perspectives in Development Practice." The Australian National University. Department of Human Geography, 1997. http://thesis.anu.edu.au./public/adt-ANU20010828.120905.
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This thesis deals with two related topics: core development objectives in community forestry in the Philippines, and the 'instruments' of development practice which have been used to address these objectives. The two topics have currency beyond forestry development and are at the centre of a debate about sustainable development. Community forestry aims to democratise resource access, alleviate poverty, and ensure the sustainability of forest resources. Development practice, however, has often led to contradictory outcomes. This paradox is examined from three perspectives: that of political economy, characteristics of practice, and the theory of rationalisation.
¶Four government-initiated community forestry projects in the Philippines are analysed. These projects provide an historical trend on the development and refinements of the different techniques from the early 1980s to the present. The relationship between the use of these techniques and improved outcomes in terms of the three core concerns is established. Empirical findings from the cases suggest that there is no necessary relationship between the employment of these instruments and better development outcomes. The attempt to democratise forest resource access through the use of access instruments has benefited the local elite and reinforced the government's jurisdiction over these resources. Similarly, the use of appraisal and participatory planning techniques has homogenised views of the local community and advanced a centrally determined agenda in forest management that has worked against the alleviation of poverty. Forest degradation is likely to continue, even with the incorporation of social factors into the concept of sustained-yield forest management.
¶The political economy perspective suggests that contradictory effects can be explained by the country's historical and political structure which has been shaped by an economically-driven development model and dominated by a more privileged sector. Despite genuine efforts for reform, this perspective contends that community forestry projects and related development interventions will always be influenced by political forces, and their benefits will be captured by the privileged sector. On the other hand, a focus on the characteristics of practice leads to the conclusion that contradictory effects are results of the limitations of these techniques, including their poor application. This implies that the adverse effects may be addressed through the refinement of these techniques and improvements in their application. Finally, the rationalisation thesis reveals that paradoxical effects are inherent in the use of these techniques. This perspective posits that even with the apparent shift from a state-controlled to a more participatory and decentralised approach in forest management, such as community forestry, the instrumentalist nature associated with the application of these techniques reinforces the characteristics of homogeneity, technocracy, and centralism which are inclined to produced paradoxical outcomes.
¶Both the political economy and the rationalisation perspectives provide a gloomy prognosis for community forestry. However, the recognition of the dual problems of poverty and environmental degradation in the Philippine uplands, suggests that community forestry should not be abandoned. Through a responsive mode of practice, there is room to move to improve the outcomes of the three central objectives. But responsive practice is not a panacea for all development ills. The process is bound to be slow, strategies will vary from one place to another, and success will be patchy. But because responsive community forestry practice is not amenable to central programming and control, it is more likely to result in sustainable outcomes than the present approaches.
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Al-Haji, Ghazwan. "Road Safety Development Index : Theory, Philosophy and Practice." Doctoral thesis, Linköpings universitet, Institutionen för teknik och naturvetenskap, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-8812.
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This dissertation develops, presents and tests a new international tool, the so-called Road Safety Development Index (RSDI), which indicates in a comprehensive and easy way the severity of the road safety situation in a specific country and/or in comparison with other countries. There are three pillars of outcomes involved in the framework of RSDI. One pillar is the People focus (road user behaviour). The second is the System focus (safer vehicles, safer roads, enforcement, management, etc). The third is the Product focus in terms of accident death rates. This thesis analyses each of these pillars. In addition, RSDI links the key national practices of road safety to each other and to the end-results (accident death rates). The study suggests a master-list of performance indicators to be implemented for assessing road safety level in a country and for RSDI building. Based on the “master-list”, a short key list of performance indicators is chosen and classified into two primary categories that correspond to two groups of countries: LMCs “Less Motorised Countries” and HMCs “Highly Motorised Countries”. RSDI aggregates the key performance indicators into one single quantitative value (composite index). Four main objective and subjective approaches are used to calculate RSDI and determine which one is the best. One approach uses equal weights for all indicators and countries, whereas the other approaches give different weights depending on the importance of indicators. Two empirical studies were carried out, in different parts of the world, to determine the applicability of this tool in real world applications. The first empirical study comes from eight European countries (HMCs). The second empirical study comes from five Southeast Asian countries (LMCs). The RSDI results from this study indicate a remarkable difference between the selected countries even at the same level of motorisation and/or with close accident death rates. The unavailability of comparable and useful data are problems for deeper analysis of RSDI, especially the index should be as relevant as possible for different parts of the world. The empirical and theoretical assessments prove that RSDI can give a broader picture of the whole road safety situation in a country compared to the traditional models and can offer a simple and easily understandable tool to national policy makers and public.Denna avhandling utvecklar, presenterar och testar ett nytt internationellt verktyg, det så kallade Road Safety Development Index (RSDI), vilket på ett begripligt och lättillgängligt sätt beskriver trafiksäkerhetsläget i ett visst land jämfört med andra länder. Resultatet av RSDI utgörs av tre grundpelare. Den första pelaren är Fokus på människor (vägtrafikbeteende). Den andra är Fokus på systemet (säkrare fordon, säkrare vägar, beivrande, management, osv). Den tredje pelaren är Fokus på produkten med avseende på antal döda per fordon och per invånare. Arbetet analyserar var och en av dessa tre pelare. RSDI kopplar dessutom samman de viktigaste nationella praxisarna och erfarenheterna med varandra och till slutresultaten (antal dödsfall). Studien föreslår en lista med de viktigaste indikatorerna på hur olika länder vidtar åtgärder för trafiksäkerheten. Grundat på denna “master-lista” kan en kort lista med de viktigaste indikatorerna skapas och klassificeras i två huvudkategorier för två typer av länder: LMC “länder med låg andel fordon” och HMC “länder med hög andel fordon”. RSDI aggregerar de viktigaste performance-indikatorerna till ett enda kvantitativt mått (ett sammansatt index). Fyra olika objektiva och subjektiva huvudangreppssätt används för att beräkna RSDI och bestämma vilket av dem som är det bästa. En metod använder sig av lika stora vikter för alla indikatorer och länder, medan en annan metod ger olika vikter beroende på indikatorernas betydelse. Två empiriska studier genomfördes i olika delar av världen för att bestämma tillämpligheten av detta verktyg i verkliga situationer. Den första empiriska studien kommer från åtta länder i Europa (HMC-länder). Den andra empiriska studien har gjorts i fem länder i Sydostasien (LMC-länder). Resultaten från detta RSDI tyder på en anmärkningsvärd skillnad mellan de valda länderna, också om andelen bilägare och/eller andra variabler för trafiksäkerhet hålls konstanta. Bristen på jämförbara och användbara data medför problem vid en djupare analys av RSDI för olika delar av världen. De empiriska och teoretiska skattningarna visar att RSDI kan ge en bredare bild av hela trafiksäkerhetssituationen i ett land jämfört med traditionella modeller och kan erbjuda ett enkelt och lättförståeligt verktyg för de nationella beslutsfattarna liksom för allmänheten.
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Kihlander, Ingrid. "Managing concept decision making in product development practice." Doctoral thesis, KTH, Integrerad produktutveckling, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-43396.
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Making concept decisions is a crucial activity for product-developing companies since these decisions have high impact on the subsequent development and launch of the product. Consequences of unsuccessful concept decisions can be severe, e.g. missing out on business opportunities or spending money on rework. This thesis investigates concept decision making in product development practice and contributes by enhancing the understanding of what is actually happening, the difficulties experienced in the process, and how to manage and improve concept decision making. Such enhanced understanding should serve as a basis when support methods for concept decision making are developed. In-depth studies have been conducted in a Swedish automotive company, focusing on the technical system level of the product. The concept decision process was found to be a web of interconnected activities, embedded in the concept development process, and with several actors on different hierarchical levels. An overarching challenge identified in concept decision making was to achieve compatibility before completeness, meaning that compatibility between product systems must be met before the system solutions are completely developed. In addition, a number of conflicts intrinsic in the process were revealed, pointing to underlying causes of the difficulties in managing concept decision making. These conflicts are omnipresent due to the product and organizational complexity and have to be handled by the product developers in their daily work. The thesis identifies key elements for improving an organization’s concept decision making: Create meta-knowledge and awareness regarding what influences the process and the actors in the process since there is a general lack of knowledge regarding one’s own and the organization’s decision-making processes; Ask questions to ensure that aspects, previously neglected, are considered; Provide visualizations to enhance understanding of both process and solutions; Provide vision as guidance in everyday decision making and trade-offs; and Ensure reflections since there is a need for actors in the process to reflect on the own decision-making process. In conclusion, a model to improve the concept decision making in practice is proposed. The model includes a set of proposed activities that are designed to address the previously identified challenges, and was developed in collaboration between researchers and practitioners.QC 20111019
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Nilsson, Carolina. "Valuation of development rights : Current practice and limitations." Thesis, KTH, Bygg- och fastighetsekonomi, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-48733.
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Valuations play an important role for transactions decisions regarding properties and should indicate the most probably price for the object if sold on the open market. There are different valuation approaches and methods generally summarized as the comparable sales method and the investment method.The object of this thesis is to find out the general practical approach among appraisers when appraising development rights.The methodology used for answering the thesis question is based on a theoretical background of market value definitions, valuation methods, investment theory, and fundamentals of land development, together with an empirical section analyzing valuation reports and interviews held with leading valuation companies in Sweden. Development rights valuations have in this work been characterized by having few comparables. This work has also found that there are many difficulties estimating an appropriate risk regarding how long the development process will take and how the market will look like when property is completed. Due to the lack of available market data, there is also a high uncertainty regarding the variables used as inputs in the valuation. This thesis has found that the preferred approach among appraisers is to use the comparable sales method, trying to find comparable objects that are in the same phase in the development and planning process as the subject property. The residual method, using an investment calculation and then subtract all costs identified as necessary for completing the property, is identified the second best preferred choice. But a conclusion of this thesis is also that many variables assumed are not necessarily derived from the market, but rather from appraisers own experience and general knowledge as well as second hand information given from other actors like property owner expectations, information of municipalities and developer´s own beliefs and perceptions.The risk within the valuations is also concluded to be handled by very diverse approaches by the appraisers and there is a wish to make deeper research about how this could be more ultimately handled by the valuation core in the future.
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Gotsopoulou, Niki. "The irregular development of franchising : law and practice." Thesis, University of Hull, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.327203.
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McWilliams, W. "The English Social Inquiry Report: Development and Practice." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 1986. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.491938.
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DiBiase, Deborah. "Formative Assessment Professional Development| Impact on Teacher Practice." Thesis, Johnson & Wales University, 2014. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3621976.
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With increasing demands on student achievement as set forth by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) (2001), teachers are the catalyst for improving their students' performance (Marzano, 2000). Existing studies on the use of formative assessment as a process by which teachers elicit information of their students' progress and use that information to inform their instruction have shown promising results in student achievement gains (Wiliam & Thompson, 2007). Extensive teacher professional development is needed, however, to instill a change in teacher practice needed to successfully employ formative assessment resulting in improved student achievement (Trumbull & Lash, 2013; Wiley & Heritage, 2010).
The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between Linking Learning and Assessment professional development (including online training modules and communities of practice) as well as other forms of professional development on formative assessment and resulting self-perceived teacher practice, and what aspects of the professional development teachers found meaningful in improving their practice.
This study utilized a mixed-methods design. A questionnaire was administered to middle level educators (N=82) throughout the state followed by a focus group interview (N=5). Quantitative data analysis consisted of descriptive statistics, correlations, Anova, and t-tests. Qualitative data were obtained through open-ended questions and the focus group. Content analysis was conducted to analyze the qualitative data obtained through the focus group interview and the open-ended questions on the questionnaire.
A major finding of this study is that most teachers are in the early stages of implementing the formative assessment process and have begun to realize the power of formative assessment. Those who have had ongoing and intensive training have begun to see meaningful changes in their practice. Professional development found to be most meaningful to teachers includes: collaboration, active learning opportunities and coherence. In addition, teachers expressed the need for professional development to be differentiated to meet their individual needs.
The results of this study may serve to inform teachers, administrators, districts and state departments of education when developing and implementing professional development in general as well as professional development on formative assessment.
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Cain, Kellie J. "The development of teachers' reflectivity: Theory into practice." Scholarly Commons, 2005. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/2451.
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Cultivating preservice teachers' reflection on their practice has been a major objective in teacher education over the last twenty years. Teacher educators have designed a number of activities, usually related to coursework, to facilitate preservice teachers' reflectivity. These kinds of assignments might be described as asking preservice teachers to reflect on demand. Studies in the past have typically focused on the discussion of specific strategies used to elicit reflection or descriptions of reflective teacher education programs. This study explored how preservice and first-year teachers understand and engage in reflection in different contexts while learning to teach. A sample of seventeen respondents, education students enrolled in coursework, student teachers, and first-year teachers, was selected to participate in the study. The data consisted of interviews, classroom observations and the examination of related documents. Preservice teachers taking courses engaged in introspection or self-reflection. This time was spent exploring their emerging identities as teachers. As respondents got opportunities to work in school settings, they began to reflect more on content and students. First-year teachers applied some of the reflective strategies they learned during coursework in their own practice. Several factors appeared to enhance preservice and first-year teachers' ability to reflect as they moved from coursework into student teaching and their own classrooms: (1) building relationships with teachers and students in K--12 classrooms, (2) engaging in reflective dialogue with 'more knowledgeable others'---university faculty and practitioners, and (3) having opportunities to teach on a regular basis.
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Robson, Susan. "Towards reflexive, dynamic and accountable community development practice." Thesis, Durham University, 2015. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/11386/.
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This thesis explores the limits and possibilities for community development practice to maintain dynamism and integrity in a professional context. There is a particular emphasis upon reflexivity and its relevance in processes of accountability towards both communities and state policy. The study was born out of dissonance surrounding the researcher’s community development practice mid-way through New Labour’s 1997 to 2010 administration. It argues that New Labour’s social functionalist approach proved to be problematic for the maintenance the reflexive and personal commitment necessary to the central dynamic of community development work. Although not specifically designed to consider feminist community development approaches, the questions emerged from the researcher’s feminist analysis of contemporary practice and the research itself was designed from this perspective. The design of the methods applied to the empirical research for this study are based upon those used in reflexive and transformative community development practice. The empirical work involves a case study surrounding the conditions for community development professional practice in North East England in 2007, ten years into New Labour’s last administration. This consisted of semi-structured interviews with a sample of twenty-four self-defined community development practitioners. Focus groups were conducted in 2009 to share the findings and to assist the researcher to take the analysis further. Aiming to generalize from a particular historical moment when the Government seemed to be supportive of community development work, during New Labour’s 1997 to 2010 administration, the thesis highlights some inherent tensions within the relationship between the state and the dynamism of community development and illustrates lessons that are widely applicable to its everyday practice. In conclusion this thesis argues that for community development practice to maintain dynamism and integrity in a state policy context it is vital that its personal dynamic is integral to forming future conceptions of professionalism. Moreover that supporting the personal and relational elements of community development practice requires the creation of liminal spaces where self-determination and the agency can be exercised. For, it is only under these practice conditions that the intersubjective relationships necessary for bilateral and horizontal professional accountability can be nurtured and developed.
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Vail, Teresa M. "Teachers' professional development experiences: Implications for teaching practice." Scholarly Commons, 2011. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/28.
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The purpose of this study was to inquire into the ways in which participation in physical science professional development impacts science teachers' professional learning and ultimately their practice over time. This study strove to provide a greater understanding of teachers' processes as they engage in professional learning and make changes in their practice long after the requirements of the professional development have been met. The six respondents that participated in the inquiry were physical science educators who were teaching in four different high schools in Central California. The guiding research question was stated as: How does participation in physical science professional development impact teachers' professional learning and ultimately their practice? Three sub-questions were also explored: In what ways does physical science professional development impact teachers' pedagogical content knowledge over time? In what ways does physical science professional development impact teachers' curriculum decision-making processes over time? In what ways does physical science professional development support a teacher's professional learning over time? Collective case study methodology was used in order to acquire multiple perspectives on the processes of teachers' professional learning and how professional development experiences have impacted this process. From four cross-case analyses of interviews, classroom observations, and documents, six themes emerged elucidating the process of professional learning. The process of professional learning is "driven" by a constant desire to learn resulting in the participation in professional development experiences where bits-n-pieces of curriculum are incorporated into the teachers' practice supported by relationships and reflection. The pressure to conform to education policy tempers the entire process of professional learning. Lastly, the process of professional learning has produced teachers as leaders. Each aspect of the process of professional learning has been impacted by the respondents' participation in professional development. By engaging in the iterative process of professional learning described here, respondents are transforming their professional development experiences in order to learn from and about their practice over extended periods of time. As professional learners, the respondents act as change agents in their own practice, schools and learning communities. Based on the results, implications for practice and recommendations for further inquiry are also presented.
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Kayongo, Patrick. "Why do software developers practice test-driven development?" Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20417.
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This dissertation describes research that has been undertaken to understand factors influencing software developers' intention to perform test driven development (TDD). Unit tests are a form of testing, where tests are written for small units of software being developed. TDD is a practice where these tests are written before the functionality is written, so as to guide the design of the code for the functionality, as well as to ensure test coverage for all functionality. There has been some research conducted to understand TDD by looking at its effects on both the outcomes and the practice of software development. It has been found to increase quality by decreasing defects, while also increasing the maintainability and the changeability of the code. On the other hand, some research has also found it to increase time spent on completing tasks. Despite this, to the best of the researcher's knowledge, there hasn't been research done to understand the behavioural components of TDD, and in particular, why developers choose to practice TDD. A conceptual model based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) is described and used as a lens to understand intention. TPB proposes that intention to perform a behaviour (TDD in this case) is influenced by three factors: attitude towards the behaviour, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control. This dissertation seeks to build onto this model for the purpose of understanding TDD, and proposes the following determinants of the influences of intention: attitude is influenced by attitude towards time taken, differences in quality, maintainability and developer efficiency; subjective norm is influenced by the perceived perception of the environment regarding changes in quality, time taken, and maintainability of the code. Lastly, perceived behavioural control is posited to be made up of perceived difficulty of TDD, and how much experience a developer has. This model is then tested based on data collected from a n online survey distributed around the world. 779 responses were collected from developers in various countries around the world. The majority of the respondents to practice TDD, allowing us to gain greater insight into why those that practice TDD actually do so. Because the study is a psychographic study, perceptions were understood from the developers using an ordinal Likert scale. To analyse this data in order to prove the hypotheses, Chi -¬‐ square tests with contingency tables, Kruskal -¬‐ Wallis tests and ordinal logistic regression were used as statistical methods. It is found the data collected does not conform to the model, and recommendations are made for a future study to form a more comprehensive model.
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Weng, Chi-hsiu Daniel. "Modern Shuai-Chiao: Its Theory, Practice and Development." The Ohio State University, 1987. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1392025978.
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Weng, Ch-hsiu Daniel. "Modern Shuai-Chiao : its theory, practice and development /." The Ohio State University, 1987. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1487325740721342.
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Gibassier, Delphine. "Environmental Management Accounting Development : Institutionalization, Adoption and Practice." Thesis, Jouy-en Josas, HEC, 2014. http://www.theses.fr/2014EHEC0001/document.
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Cette thèse explore la notion d’innovations en contrôle de gestion environnemental et vise à explorer la façon dont elles sont créées, si elles sont adoptées ou non dans les entreprises et les conséquences de l’adoption, et enfin comment elles sont pratiquées. Les méthodes de recherche combinent l’observation participante, les entretiens semi-directifs et des données secondaires. Cette thèse est composée de trois articles qui explorent ensemble les différentes facettes de l’innovation en contrôle de gestion. Le premier article aborde la question de comment les innovations sont créées et leur processus d’institutionnalisation. L’accent est mis sur les acteurs et leurs stratégies, le qui et le comment du processus d’institutionnalisation. Grâce à une étude de cas approfondie d’une organisation, le deuxième article révèle le processus de non-adoption d’une méthodologie de comptabilité carbone. Le troisième article analyse les pratiques entourant une innovation en contrôle de gestion dans une multinationale. Dans l’ensemble cette thèse fait trois principales contributions théoriques sur le travail institutionnel spécifique développé par les élites, le rôle de la légitimité interne dans la légitimité organisationnelle, et sur les processus de co-émergence de nouvelles pratiques. Cette recherche sur les innovations en contrôle de gestion environnemental contribue également à mieux comprendre comment le développement durable peut aussi être atteint à travers la comptabilité dans les organisationsThis dissertation explores the notion of environmental management accounting innovation and aims to explore how they are created, if they are adopted or not into companies and the consequences thereof, and finally how they are practiced. Research methods combine participant observation, semi-structured interviews and secondary data. This dissertation is composed of three articles that together explore the different facets of management accounting innovations. The first article tackles the question of how innovations get created and on their path to institutionalization. The focus is on the actors and their strategies, the who and how of the institutionalization process. Through an in-depth case study of one organization, the second article uncovers the process of the non-adoption of a carbon accounting methodology. The third article analyses the practices surrounding and accounting innovation in a multinational.Overall, this dissertation makes three main theoretical contributions on the specific institutional work developed by elite, the role of internal legitimacy in organizational legitimacy, and on the processes of co-emergence of new practices. This research on EMA innovations also contributes to further understanding how sustainable development can be pursued through accounting in organizations
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Manoukian, Violeta (Sherab Violeta) Carleton University Dissertation International Affairs. "Participatory development: paradigm shift in theory and practice." Ottawa, 1989.
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Alves, Ballón Tedesqui Rafael. "Personality, Deliberate Practice, and Expertise Development in Sport." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/38702.
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Conscientiousness-related personality traits are relevant predictors of many outcomes in achievement domains outside sport. They have also been associated with several outcomes in sport, however, their relative role on athletes’ deliberate practice (DP) and other criteria of expertise development has not been investigated. The overall aim of this dissertation was to examine the role of conscientiousness-related traits on sport expertise development. It had six specific purposes: (a) to examine the structural validity of conscientiousness-related measures; (b) to understand whether athletes’ DP amounts, skill level, and other criteria of expertise development could be predicted by these measures; (c) to identify the best personality predictor and combination of predictors that explained the maximal variance in different criteria of expertise development; (d) to examine whether grit facets predicted athletes’ practice engagement across a demanding sport season; (e) to explore coaches’ perspectives on the behavioural indicators of conscientious, gritty, and self-controlled athletes in training; and (f) to explore coaches’ views about how these personality traits may impact athletes’ quantity and quality of practice and development toward higher skill levels. The dissertation used a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, wherein Phase 1 (Articles 1, 2, and 3) quantitatively pursued purposes (a) to (c), Phase 2 (Article 4) addressed (d), and Phase 3 (Article 5) qualitatively addressed (e) and (f).
Article 1 tested the factor structure of the Brief Self-Control Scale in sport and showed distinct associations between self-control variables and (a) sport-specific practice amounts, (b) engagement in various practice contexts, and (c) threats to commitment to one’s sport, in a diverse sport sample. Article 2 conducted factor analyses of the Grit Scale in sport and examined a full latent variable model showing associations between grit variables and several criteria of expertise development. In particular, perseverance of effort associated with athletes’ weekly amounts of DP, engagement in different practice contexts, and skill level, while consistency of interests associated with athletes’ commitment to their sport. Article 3 comprised two studies. In Study 1, path analyses were used to assess the role of conscientiousness on criteria of expertise development. At the broad level, conscientiousness predicted athletes’ engagement in practice contexts and commitment to their sport; at the facet-level, achievement-striving was the best predictor of athletes’ weekly DP and engagement in practice contexts. The systematic test of the role of self-control (Article 1), grit (Article 2), and conscientiousness (Article 3, Study1) for key criteria of expertise development culminated with Study 2 of Article 3, which reported comparative analyses of the predictive ability of self-control, grit, and conscientiousness facets—which had shown to be significant predictors when assessed separately—for the criterion measures of sport expertise. Study 2 showed that (a) perseverance of effort was the best predictor of athletes’ weekly DP, engagement in mandatory practice, and the only predictor of higher skill level, (b) achievement-striving best predicted athletes’ engagement in optional practice, and (c) consistency of interests best predicted athletes’ commitment to their sport. Article 4 tested whether athletes’ self-reported levels of grit (broad and facets) were longitudinally associated with their coach-reported practice engagement throughout one sport season. Perseverance of effort was the grit variable most related to indicators of practice engagement, the only variable related to overall practice engagement across three time points, and the only variable marginally associated with athletes’ stability of practice engagement over time. Article 5 explored coaches’ views about the behavioural indicators of athletes’ conscientiousness, grit, and self-control in the daily training environment and how these traits impacted athletes’ training and development. Coaches described (a) conscientious athletes as systematic and detail-oriented, highly considerate of others, and highly engaged in self-regulation; (b) gritty athletes as those who persevere despite adversity and work hard in practice; and (c) self-controlled athletes as those who control impulses, resist temptations, and delay gratification. Coaches believe grit, conscientiousness, and self-control play important roles on athletes’ development toward higher skill levels, but results generally highlighted the preponderance of perseverance of effort. Potential mechanisms (e.g., conscientiousness—self-regulation—practice quality and conscientiousness—self-regulation—skill level) were highlighted to help explain the personality-expertise link found in Phases 1 and 2.
This dissertation contributed to the literature on sport expertise by parsimoniously identifying conscientiousness-related personality traits that were associated with measures of athletes’ practice quantity, quality, and stability, commitment to sport, and higher skill level. Although several facets (i.e., perseverance of effort, consistency of interests, achievement-striving, self-discipline, and dutifulness) showed associations with practice and performance-related outcomes, this dissertation generally highlighted the role of grit facets. In particular, while perseverance of effort was the best predictor of athletes’ amounts of DP, the only grit variable associated with quality practice engagement over time, and the only predictor of higher skill level, consistency of interests was the best predictor of commitment variables. Furthermore, results based on coaches’ descriptions (a) provided behavioural indicators of conscientiousness-related traits that serve as reference points for practitioners aiming to help athletes develop desirable traits, (b) suggested that gritty athletes ‘work hard’ and conscientious athletes ‘work smart’, and (c) proposed mechanisms to explain the personality-expertise link found in the quantitative studies. Taken together, the results of this dissertation suggest that the tendency to persevere despite adversity and mindfully use self-regulated processes seems to be a powerful predisposition for athletes’ development toward expert levels of performance.
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Pulhin, Juan M. "Community forestry paradoxes and perspectives in development practice /." Connect to this title online, 1996. http://thesis.anu.edu.au/public/adt-ANU20010828.120905/.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Australian National University, 1996.Title from PDF title page (viewed on Dec. 13, 2006). Electronic version of thesis incomplete: all after p. 208 wanting. Includes bibliographical references.
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Barto, Heather Heinfelden. "The Career Development of Adolescent Mothers: Research to Practice." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/73011.
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This research endeavor contributes to a better understanding of the career development of adolescent mothers by (a) highlighting the contextual considerations; (b) examining the existing body of literature; (c) contributing to the research on adolescent mothers' career adaptability, resiliency, and obstacles; and (c) proposing ways to bridge the research to practice gap. An ecological examination of the contextual considerations associated with adolescent pregnancy and motherhood provided pertinent information on which to base a culturally sensitive framework to examine the career development of adolescent mothers using the concepts of career adaptability and resiliency and an assessment of obstacles that may impede their career development.
The culturally sensitive framework was used in two studies conducted to better understand the career development of adolescent mothers. The first was a content analysis designed to provide a better understanding of the published literature and to direct a research study. Content analysis findings revealed the need to develop and implement comprehensive programs for adolescent mothers that are strength-based, responsive to areas of need, and foster career development skills/knowledge and resiliency. Using the results of the content analysis, a study was designed to examine the relationships among career adaptability, resiliency, and perceived obstacles to career development with a convenience sample of adolescent mothers. Results indicated that these adolescent mothers were similar to non-mothering peers in the planning and decision making dimensions of career adaptability but lower in exploration. Traits of personal resiliency and emotional reactivity were comparable to non-mothering peers, but relational resiliency was lower. Obstacles most often cited as impeding career development were pressing immediate needs and educational/career related concerns.
Finally, the need to bridge the research to practice gap is discussed including considerations related to practitioners, organizations, and communication. In an effort to bridge the research to practice gap, the Interactive Systems Framework (ISF) is proposed as a model for communicating with practitioners through Synthesis and Translation, Support, and Delivery systems. The model is presented as an example for sharing with practitioners a culturally sensitive framework on the career adaptability of adolescent mothers supported by dissemination and implementation of research findings.Ph. D.
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Snaith, Beverly. "Development of the radiography evidence base: An examination of advancing practice." Thesis, University of Bradford, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/6314.
Full textAbstract:
Radiography has seen most development over the last 30 years with the
evolution of new technologies, but perhaps more significantly changes in
education models and radiographer roles. The development of advanced
and consultant posts has facilitated the growth of the profession, although
the evidence base is still evolving.
Through a number of research projects this thesis will explore the growth in
the radiography evidence base with specific reference to the extending role
of the radiographer in image interpretation. Parallel clinical and academic
developments have provided evidence of a scholarly profession which is
slowly establishing its place through publication and a growing research
base.Please Note: The full text of each of the published articles, which are listed on page vii, has been removed from the PhD online copy due to publisher copyright restrictions. Links to the publisher¿s websites are given. To see the final full text version of the articles listed on page vii, please visit the publisher¿s website. Available access to the published online version may require a subscription.
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Backus, Annette L. "Development of Couplet-Care Education." ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/4590.
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The facility under study has had a traditional postpartum and nursery, with different nurses for the mother and baby. A decision was made to change the care model to couplet-care (CC). CC is an evidence-based care model that promotes newborn care at the mother's bedside. Establishing an education and implementation plan is important to the success of the transition. The purpose of this project was to develop an evidence-based education and implementation plan for CC implementation and to provide for staff barriers and pushback to change. The goals of the study were to identify an approach to implement evidence-based practice education that is efficient and sustainable. There is a paucity of literature available that describes how to plan and implement CC. However, Mercer's maternal role attainment provides ample evidence to support the nursing care model of CC. A survey was developed to determine the gaps in current knowledge of couplet-care. The survey was returned by 54% of the 67 staff nurses from the mother-baby unit. and revealed the need for definitions of CC, Family Centered Care, and the need to integrate role-playing into the education plan. Transformation theory is used to identify attitudes and biases to practice change that interfere with implementation. Reflective discussion was built into the education plan to assist with overcoming barriers to practice change. Using an evidence-based program plan for a nursing care model change may ease the transition of other mother-baby units to CC. CC provides an environment that supports healthy newborn attachment and subsequent healthy lifestyle.
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Piálek, Nicholas. "Gender mainstreaming in development organisations : policy, practice and institutional change." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2008. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:7d9a5c6b-0d0f-42a3-8c59-310ee56a3a6b.
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‘Gender and Development’ (GAD) is currently seen as the dominant theoretical model within international development for promoting social justice and equality for women. As a consequence, many development organisations are undertaking gender mainstreaming. The most interesting fact about the vast number of analyses about gender mainstreaming is the consistency with which they tell of GAD influenced policies failing to implement GAD approaches in practice. This should raise suspicion rather than simple condemnation. It is time to ask: ‘How are, often very progressive, gender policies and strategies consistently silenced across the range of organisational contexts?’ This thesis focuses upon the contemporary process of gender mainstreaming in development organisations – a term that specifically refers to a ‘process of organisational change’ that aims to explicitly develop the ‘use of GAD approaches within all projects and programmes’ of development institutions in order to achieve ‘a vision of development that creates gender equitable social change’ in society. Moreover, it takes an approach that specifically details the ‘organisational process’ element of change inferred in the term. As such, this thesis uses the literature of organisational culture as a lens to make previously unnoticed and submerged sites of conflict and acts of resistance visible, allowing an understanding to be gained of how gender mainstreaming has so consistently faced a policy-practice impasse. It develops this analysis using an in-depth case study of Oxfam GB and demonstrates that the process of gender mainstreaming in the organisation has resulted in the removal of ‘responsibility for’ implementing GAD approaches among staff in the organisation. It goes on to highlight that the unwillingness of development organisations and practitioners to recognise gender mainstreaming as an explicitly feminist and political process of change directly couched at the level of the organisation and not just at the level of the actual development project (or society more widely) has resulted in the ‘process of organisational change’ becoming rationalised and technical rather than personal and politically charged. In reaching this understanding of gender mainstreaming, the thesis develops an awareness of organisational change processes and highlights that ‘norms’ and ‘values’ in organisations are often confused. This confusion has led to an ineffective process of change in institutions as well as a poor conceptualisation and practice of gender mainstreaming in international development.
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Mdee, (née Toner) Anna, and Tom R. Franks. "Putting livelihoods thinking into practice: implications for development management." Bradford Centre for International Development, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/3032.
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The failure of ‘blueprint’ development interventions to deliver substantive improvements in poverty reduction has been well recognised over the last twenty years. Process approaches seek to overcome the rigidity and top-down operation of much aid-funded intervention. Sustainable livelihoods approaches (SLA) are one of the latest additions to this family of approaches. As a theoretical framework and as a set of principles for guiding intervention, sustainable livelihoods thinking has implications for development management. Drawing on research exploring the application of sustainable livelihoods principles in ten development interventions, this paper considers how these principles have evolved from continuing debates surrounding process and people-centred (bottom-up) approaches to development management. This research suggests that whilst these principles can improve the impact made by interventions, the effective application of sustainable livelihoods and other process approaches are fundamentally restricted by unbalanced power relationships between development partners.BCID Working Papers: http://www.brad.ac.uk/acad/bcid/research/papers/BCID_Research_Papers.php
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Easen, Patrick. "Practice development in the primary school : collaboration and conflict." Thesis, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, 1992. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.308879.
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Boyd, Davina Lee. "A framework for capacity development : closing the gap between theory and practice /." Murdoch University Digital Theses Program, 2009. http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/adt/browse/view/adt-MU20100104.110337.
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Hoyle, Jeffery W. "Application of a commercial product development practice to military C4I systems product development." Thesis, Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10945/6053.
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Approved for public release, distribution is unlimitedSuccessful commercial companies understand that customers are the real experts with regard to their products and services. Bringing customer experiences right into the design shop allows development of best-selling commercial products and services. Companies such as L.L. Bean, Inc. immerse themselves in their customer's experiences during new product development. They travel to their customer's location and listen to them face to face to get the best possible input for essential product requirements and new design ideas. Currently, most military C4I systems product development does not make effective use of customer input. Systems are developed and fielded in accordance with Department of Defense regulations that provide insufficient mechanisms for users to influence product requirements and design. C4I system program managers need additional tools to obtain and translate user needs into system requirements and designs. Harvard Business School has developed an educational program aimed at redesigning product/service development based on the L.L. Bean model. This thesis applies the tenets of that program to submarine C4I systems development and identifies obstacles to and lessons learned from its application to military product development.
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Petäjävaara, Agnes. "Dispelling inertia towards behavior-driven development : An assessment tool for development practice readiness." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för elektroteknik och datavetenskap (EECS), 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-259512.
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Behavior-driven development (BDD) is a development practice focusing on behaviors and requirements from users and stakeholders. It is designed to develop behaviors which contribute directly to system outcomes. BDD encourages multiple stakeholders to collaborate by minimizing communication gaps and create a shared understanding of the project between technical and non-technical speakers. As a result, the development process becomes faster and the cost lower. Although BDD has many benefits, there are teams who feel inertia towards using it as their main development practice.This thesis work took place at a company with a strong agile foundation. It had the goal to investigate reasons why teams feel inertia against BDD, and thus contribute to BDD research and assist the company. The assumption that positive motivation would help in dispelling inertia was the idea behind this thesis work, and that a stronger motivation for a practice can be achieved by assessing a team’s suitability for it. To reach the goal of the thesis a qualitative research methodology was used, with a focus on obtaining a better understanding of opinions and behaviors that exist, with rounds of interviews and forms as the main method of data collection. Interviews were also consistently used throughout the thesis work to validate that it followed the right track.The inertia which teams at the company have experienced was clustered into different dimensions. These dimensions were used to develop a self-assessment tool intended to help people starting a project to assess how well BDD might fit their context. It allows people to assess their inertia in the different dimensions identified, and as well as attempting to give an overall guide to readiness, also giving some recommendations where gaps could be identified.The deliverable of the thesis work is the tool for managing inertia against BDD. It was developed in a spreadsheet-format for quick development and easy access for multiple users. However, it is important to highlight that this tool focuses on agile autonomous teams. The tool is not about forcing the development practice on someone but rather acts as an aid in giving insight into how well BDD could work for a specific project and team. Finally, to grasp the validity of the tool teams who had previous success developing projects using BDD at the company were able to try it out to see how well it reflected their project reality. The tool also got tested on teams who felt strong inertia towards BDD, to verify whether it helped them manage it or not.Beteendedriven utveckling (BDD), är ett arbetssätt som fokuserar på beteenden och krav från både användare och intressenter. Det är utvecklat för att främja och skapa beteenen som bidrar till det önskade målet. Några av BDDs fördelar är att arbetssättet uppmuntrar intressenterna till tätt samarbete, att minska luckor i kommunikation och information samt att det skapar en delad förståelse för projektet mellan teknisktoch icke-tekniskt kunniga intressenter. En positiv konsekvens av detta är att utvecklingen tenderar att bli snabbare och kostnaderna lägre. BDD ser till att alla inblandade är eniga om vilket resultat man kan förvänta sig från ett utvecklingsprojekt, redan innan utvecklingen börjar. Detta gör att de missförstånd som är vanligt förekommande mellan intressenter och utvecklingsteam reduceras. Trots att BDD, som nämnts, har flera fördelar finns det team som känner motstånd mot att använda BDD som sitt huvudsakliga arbetssätt.Antagandet att motivation kan bidra till att minska motståndet och att motivationen kan skapas genom att påvisa för team hur lämpligt BDD skulle vara för just dem var ideén bakom detta arbete. Det utfördes på ett företag med stark agil bas. Målet var att identifiera och utreda orsakerna till att team känner motstånd mot BDD, och på så sätt bidra till forskningen och samtidigt hjälpa företaget med en ökad insikt i detta. Syftet med arbetet var att utveckla ett verktyg för att hjälpa team förstå sitt motstånd mot BDD och guida dem till hur de kan hantera det. För att nå målet användes en kvalitativ forskningsmetod med fokus på att få en bättre förståelse för åsikter och beteenden som finns angående BDD. Olika rundor av intervjuer utgjorde den huvudsakliga datainsamlingen. Intervjuer användes också kontinuerligt för att validera att arbetet höll rätt kurs.Det motstånd mot BDD som påträffades på företaget grupperades i olika dimensioner. Dessa användes för att utveckla slutprodukten av kandidatexamensarbetet, ett självskattningsverktyg. För att underlätta utvecklingen valdes ett spreadsheet-format på verktyget, detta även för att enkelt kunna dela det mellan flertalet intressenter.Det är viktigt att understryka att verktyget fokuserar på autonoma team. Det har inte som mål att tvinga någon att använda BDD, utan att agera som hjälp för att visa hur arbetssättet skulle kunna fungera för ett specifikt projekt och team. Slutligen, för att kunna verifiera kvaliteten på verktyget, utvärderades det i samarbete med team som tidigare på ett framgångsrikt sätt utvecklat ett projekt med BDD. Detta för att se om självskattningsverktygets utsägelse motsvarade teamets helhetsupplevelse. Verktyget testades också av andra team för att se om det var till hjälp för dem eller inte.
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Snaith, Beverly Ann. "Development of the radiography evidence base : an examination of advancing practice." Thesis, University of Bradford, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10454/6314.
Full textAbstract:
Radiography has seen most development over the last 30 years with the evolution of new technologies, but perhaps more significantly changes in education models and radiographer roles. The development of advanced and consultant posts has facilitated the growth of the profession, although the evidence base is still evolving. Through a number of research projects this thesis will explore the growth in the radiography evidence base with specific reference to the extending role of the radiographer in image interpretation. Parallel clinical and academic developments have provided evidence of a scholarly profession which is slowly establishing its place through publication and a growing research base.
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Abidin, Shahriman Bin Zainal. "Practice-based design thinking for form development and detailing." Doctoral thesis, Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet, Institutt for produktdesign, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-19760.
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Automotive design is a specialized discipline in which designers are challenged to create emotionally appealing designs. From a practice perspective, this requires that designers apply their hermeneutic as well as reflective design thinking skills. However, due to the increasing demand for new car models, it is not always possible to keep generating new car designs without some form of assistive means. Therefore, it is common practice to use Automated Morphing Systems (AMS) to facilitate and accelerate the design process in the automotive industry. However, AMS, which is an efficient algorithmic driven tool for form generation, lacks the emotional knowledge of human beings, as well as the ability to introduce a “creative” and preferably a “winning” design. The purpose of this research is to study designers' reasoning about product (automotive) form, their form generation activity, and the implications of these. The research objective is to understand how designers generate forms driven by their implicit values, beliefs and attitudes towards designing, and how these are supported by their visualization and representation skills. Four research questions have been formulated in order to get a firm answer posed in this research. Generation of measurable and testable data – which involved both qualitative and quantitative research to gather and analyze implicit and explicit designer’s knowledge – constituted the main empirical effort for this thesis. A design research methodology framework consisting of three different parts was used in this data gathering exercise. These parts are: descriptive study I, prescriptive study, and descriptive study II. They involved methods such as surveys, observation studies and evaluation studies. Master’s students’ evaluations as well as the designers’ own interpretations of their sketches – which represent the sequence of morphed forms – were considered essential aspects of the empirical studies. The findings of this study can be summarized as follows: Approaches in form development among designers vary due to their experiences, which affect their sketching abilities, activities, and implicit thinking patterns. In their sketching and form development activities, designers emphasize the most informative views, such as façade and three quarter front views, compared to other views of the car. Rather than adopt a uniform transformation strategy which includes the entire car, they also select what elements to morph. In manual form generation, designers contribute with their personal and creative input in the development of the forms of the overall car, its selected items, and regions that determine the overall character of the car. Major differences in the morphing approaches applied by designers and automated CAD systems reside in the recognition and interpretation of the meaning of form elements. Considering the inability of AMS to morph selectively and inconsistently, as well as to introduce ambiguity and variance, it is suggested here that AMS may be useful only for convergent transformation, which typically occurs during the later stages of the styling process. Although perceptions vary according to how representations are presented in the morphing process, the Perceptual Product Experience (PPE) framework can still be considered a useful tool for establishing familiarity, for understanding quality characteristics and the nature of the product, and, finally, for determining meanings and assessing the values of form elements. In conclusion, the work presents a descriptive model for practice-based design thinking about form development in automotive design. Manual interpolative morphing has been the focal area of study. The study categorizes meaning with respect to designer perception. Based on the study of manual morphing exercises, a new methodology of analyzing form syntactics, pragmatics and semantics related to design thinking, form development, and automotive design has been developed.
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Afshari, Arsham, and John-Ting Li. "Product Development : The theory and its applicability in practice." Thesis, KTH, Industriell produktion, 2012. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-102681.
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This paper is a qualitative research to understand how well the theoretical methods of product development are applied in practice. A comparison between the theory and methods the companies are using is done in order to get an insight of the current situation. Value analysis, Quality Function Deployment, Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, Design for Assembly, and Modular Function Deployment that is brought up in this thesis are all well-known methods in the theory which assist companies to achieve a higher degree and effectiveness with their development. These methods answer fundamental problems that may occur in every company, and touches on areas such as the economical perspectives and customer related inquiries. It also finds solutions on uncertainties that might arise during product development. After interviewing ABB, Scania and Atlas Copco, we learned that some of the theoretical methods were in fact utilized to a certain degree. However, there are instances where the enterprises establish their own principles to rationalize product development. After a thorough comparison made between the methods used by the companies and the theory, we discovered many similarities between them. The foundations of these methods are very much based on the existing theories. We concluded that even though the theoretical methods aren’t applicable to all situations, the fundamentals are widely accepted and the philosophies behind them are commonly applied in companies’ own methods. The theory does not only act as a backbone for effective product development but also serves as an important tool for further method customization suitable to the uniqueness of each enterprise. Lack of knowledge in the actual theories can therefore undermine the companies’ capability in achieving efficient methods which ultimately will only disfavor themselves in terms of time and money. Companies spend a lot of time to discover methods to facilitate their development processes. They can instead collaborate with academic institutes and universities to exchange information since theories already exist out there that are able to answer and solve most the companies’ current situation and their requirements. However, there are occasions in real life circumstances where things doesn’t necessary go as smooth as depicted in literatures and theories. Therefore a balance between practice and theory where they complement each other will yield the optimal outcome.
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Dempsey, Jennifer. "Fighting falls with action research: a practice development project." University of Tecnnology, Sydney. Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Health, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/2100/371.
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Nurses espouse a caring ethic and demonstrate effectiveness in prevention of patient falls but are often observed taking risks with patients’ safety. These actions reflect poor congruence between espoused values and behaviours. Attitudes, values and involvement in decision- making are factors that influence work behaviours. Nurses’ attitudes are held to be a definitive factor in prevention work; however, few studies have focused on adherence with best practice principles of fall prevention. Yet nurses claim no authority to change their work. It was assumed that increased adherence would be achieved by improving nurses’ attitudes through participation in decision- making surrounding fall prevention practice. This study aimed to tes t this assumption by empowering nurses working in two medical wards with high numbers of patient falls to improve their ownership of practice by utilising critical social theory and action research. Nurses’ attitudes, including self-esteem, professional values and work satisfaction were established before and after a practice development project using action research. Mixed methods were employed by praxis groups meeting fortnightly for a year reflecting on, and re-engineering practice. Action research occurred in cycles focusing on assessment, communication, everyday work, and performance. Nurses’ work was re-organised to gain time to spend in prevention work. Patients’ environments were made safer and more patient-centred. New and effective ways of assessing risk to fall, communication of risk and monitoring nurses’ performance of prevention work were created and evaluated. Analysis demonstrated that nurses had good self-esteem and professional values but were not satisfied with their work. Self-esteem and professional values were unaffected by participation in work-related decisions however, nurses expressed increased sense of ownership, more satisfaction and were observed to engage in more prevention work. In conclusion, manipulation of attitudes and values is not warranted if attitudes and values are good. However, participation in work-related decision- making engages practitioners and leads to greater congruence between values and behaviour. The “unspoken rules” constraining practice that were exposed in the action research oblige nurses to assume authority, confronting and dispelling these constraints to enable more therapeutic care to emerge. Recommendations include promoting practice development as the preferred means for cultural change and improving person-centred care whilst recognising its fragile nature and dependence on clinical leadership.
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Boyes, Pattie A. "Development, implementation, and evaluation of a parish nursing practice." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape7/PQDD_0002/MQ45025.pdf.
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Al, Haji Ghazwan. "Road safety development index (RSDI) : theory, philosophy and practice /." Norrköping : Department of Science and technology, Linköping University, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-8812.
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Stockdale, Peter. "Pearsonian internationalism in practice : the International Development Research Centre." Thesis, McGill University, 1995. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=39878.
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The thesis concerns the origins, creation and progress of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). Most scholars believe that development assistance is largely motivated by self-interest. At first glance, the Centre appears to be an anomaly in Canadian foreign aid. The IDRC's disbursements are not formally tied, has an international board of governors, and its structure was specifically designed with autonomy in mind. This Canadian federal organisation has spent one and a half billion dollars are funded over 5,500 projects since its founding in 1970. During this time, the Centre has disbursed between 70-95% of its programme funds overseas, mostly to developing country university researchers. These researchers have designed and executed research intended to help developing countries alleviate poverty, social decay and more recently, environmental challenges.A detailed archeology is conducted of Pearson's own internationalism regarding science and technology, foreign policy, development assistance, environment and culture. Our analysis shows how Pearson's thinking, and that of colleagues who were to have key influences on the Centre, Barbara Ward and Maurice Strong, were embedded in deeply held beliefs and values. We identify a tension between an internationalist impulses and Canadian-centered or parochial pre-occupations common in most of the federal public service, especially central agencies. Central agents, responding to pressures from academics, and the internal values and beliefs that tend to form in these secretaria, have sought to make the IDRC conform to their own expectations. The author concludes that the Centre has survived and prospered, despite these pressures, partly because of the skill of its top officers, but principally because of the IDRC's capacity to lay claim to being an expression of internationalism.
We also show how another dialectic, between more socially-oriented perspectives and more technical ones affected the development of the IDRC. The thesis suggests that the two dialectics, the internationalist and parochial, and the technical and social, are both synthesising into, respectively, interdependence and holism.