Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'World's best practice'

'Good governance' is an evolving and increasingly influential discursive agenda that introduces new ideas about public policy, specifically targeting managerial behaviour and promoting modern administrative strategies. Most scholars agree that as a notion, good governance combines liberal democratic principles with a 'new public management' (NPM) approach to economic policy-making. What is less clear is who the agenda actually targets. In other words, is the good governance agenda aimed at rulers in particular or the broader population? Implicit in the answer is whether good governance concepts are simply useful tools to help build political credibility, or the agents for better managerial and administrative outcomes. In countries with advanced economies, good governance is invariably used to describe corporate and public administration strategies that invoke ethically grounded 'World's best practice' standards and procedures. However, in developing economies, good governance can take on quite different, and often unintended meanings. This thesis finds that in developing countries good governance is being expressed more as a political tool than as substantive practice and policy reform. This is occurring in an increasingly 'post-Washington consensus' environment that explicitly recognises the importance of the social impact of structural adjustment programs and broader issues of human rights. And importantly as far as this thesis is concerned, during Southeast Asia's current economic recovery, good governance has taken on a whole new relevance. This analysis commences from the assumption that good governance is a discursively created phenomenon that can be understood as a complex notion with both structural and ideational elements. The term is couched in a structure that is both economically technical and socially normative. It has overlapping central tenets driven by regulation and the institutional environment, and should not be viewed as a set of constructs in isolation from the context in which it is being used. And it is based on assumptions about common sense attitudes and shared common good objectives. And as this thesis will demonstrate, good governance functions within an unpredictable and often hostile political environment in which powerful actors are learning to use this new discourse to satisfy political expediencies. Put simply, good governance is nourishing a politics of its own. The thesis uses the ASEAN 4 countries of Southeast Asia: the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, as individual and comparative case studies. The studies examine how the concept is shaping the institutional structure of these countries, and includes commentary on the role of good governance in the 2004 round of election campaigning. A genealogy of good governance will be developed in these local contexts, and more generally. This will assist in mapping the concept's evolution in relation to development trajectories and local politics. The hypothesis under examination is - that the good governance agendas in the ASEAN 4 states primarily focus on improving representative rule rather than encouraging self-regulation. Two questions in particular are asked in each of the case studies dor the purpose of testing this hypothesis. What defining features of good governance discourse have been instrumental in the emergence of the politics that surrounds the agenda, and how is the discourse used to expand or limit the democratic possibilities theoretically inherent in good governance strategies and processes? These questions are important because they're designed to bring clarity to the intent of government and the role that the governed play in states where good governance is an increasingly important political issue. Good governance is more than merely a set of prescribed policies and practices. It is an agenda that reflects a specific set of 'neoliberal' ideas, predicated upon generally unarticulated assumptions about the universality of modern administrative practices supported by normative behavioural change. And it appears to privilege specific interests with potentially unjust implications for wider social formations. This assertion pivots on the finding that in various ways good governance discourages the advancement of open politics beyond nominal democratic procedures because it is theoretically grounded on governance principles that are not easily transferred to developing countries with diverging political, cultural and historical experience. Nevertheless, the attempt is underway. Ostensibly it is taking a form that is schooling targeted populations in what is 'good' and 'bad' in the economic interest of the nation. However, these efforts don't appear to be succeeding, at least not in the way the international architects of good governance intended. This thesis finds that this 'mentality' transformation project is clearly informed by Western experience. And this informs the theoretical approach of the thesis. Specifically, a 'governmentality' framework is used, largely because it has been developed out of analyses of rationalities of government in advanced liberal societies, in which the objectives of good governance are firmly grounded. And as this expanding research program has seldom been used to study government in developing countries, this thesis also puts a case for using governmentality tools beyond the boundaries of its modern Western foundations.

'Good governance' is an evolving and increasingly influential discursive agenda that introduces new ideas about public policy, specifically targeting managerial behaviour and promoting modern administrative strategies. Most scholars agree that as a notion, good governance combines liberal democratic principles with a 'new public management' (NPM) approach to economic policy-making. What is less clear is who the agenda actually targets. In other words, is the good governance agenda aimed at rulers in particular or the broader population? Implicit in the answer is whether good governance concepts are simply useful tools to help build political credibility, or the agents for better managerial and administrative outcomes. In countries with advanced economies, good governance is invariably used to describe corporate and public administration strategies that invoke ethically grounded 'World's best practice' standards and procedures. However, in developing economies, good governance can take on quite different, and often unintended meanings. This thesis finds that in developing countries good governance is being expressed more as a political tool than as substantive practice and policy reform. This is occurring in an increasingly 'post-Washington consensus' environment that explicitly recognises the importance of the social impact of structural adjustment programs and broader issues of human rights. And importantly as far as this thesis is concerned, during Southeast Asia's current economic recovery, good governance has taken on a whole new relevance. This analysis commences from the assumption that good governance is a discursively created phenomenon that can be understood as a complex notion with both structural and ideational elements. The term is couched in a structure that is both economically technical and socially normative. It has overlapping central tenets driven by regulation and the institutional environment, and should not be viewed as a set of constructs in isolation from the context in which it is being used. And it is based on assumptions about common sense attitudes and shared common good objectives. And as this thesis will demonstrate, good governance functions within an unpredictable and often hostile political environment in which powerful actors are learning to use this new discourse to satisfy political expediencies. Put simply, good governance is nourishing a politics of its own. The thesis uses the ASEAN 4 countries of Southeast Asia: the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, as individual and comparative case studies. The studies examine how the concept is shaping the institutional structure of these countries, and includes commentary on the role of good governance in the 2004 round of election campaigning. A genealogy of good governance will be developed in these local contexts, and more generally. This will assist in mapping the concept's evolution in relation to development trajectories and local politics. The hypothesis under examination is - that the good governance agendas in the ASEAN 4 states primarily focus on improving representative rule rather than encouraging self-regulation. Two questions in particular are asked in each of the case studies dor the purpose of testing this hypothesis. What defining features of good governance discourse have been instrumental in the emergence of the politics that surrounds the agenda, and how is the discourse used to expand or limit the democratic possibilities theoretically inherent in good governance strategies and processes? These questions are important because they're designed to bring clarity to the intent of government and the role that the governed play in states where good governance is an increasingly important political issue. Good governance is more than merely a set of prescribed policies and practices. It is an agenda that reflects a specific set of 'neoliberal' ideas, predicated upon generally unarticulated assumptions about the universality of modern administrative practices supported by normative behavioural change. And it appears to privilege specific interests with potentially unjust implications for wider social formations. This assertion pivots on the finding that in various ways good governance discourages the advancement of open politics beyond nominal democratic procedures because it is theoretically grounded on governance principles that are not easily transferred to developing countries with diverging political, cultural and historical experience. Nevertheless, the attempt is underway. Ostensibly it is taking a form that is schooling targeted populations in what is 'good' and 'bad' in the economic interest of the nation. However, these efforts don't appear to be succeeding, at least not in the way the international architects of good governance intended. This thesis finds that this 'mentality' transformation project is clearly informed by Western experience. And this informs the theoretical approach of the thesis. Specifically, a 'governmentality' framework is used, largely because it has been developed out of analyses of rationalities of government in advanced liberal societies, in which the objectives of good governance are firmly grounded. And as this expanding research program has seldom been used to study government in developing countries, this thesis also puts a case for using governmentality tools beyond the boundaries of its modern Western foundations.
Thesis (Masters)
Master of Philosophy (MPhil)
Griffith Business School
Full Text

Thesis (M.A.)--Indiana University, 2010.
Title from screen (viewed on July 29, 2010). Department of English, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Stephen L. Fox, Susan C. Shepherd, Teresa Molinder Hogue. Includes vitae. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 68-70).

Dans ce mémoire, nous nous penchons sur les expressions polylexicales (EP) et leurs relations avec l’analyse syntaxique, la tâche qui consiste à déterminer les relations syntaxiques entre les mots dans une phrase donnée. Le défi que posent les EP dans ce contexte, par rapport aux expressions linguistiques régulières, provient de leurs propriétés parfois inattendues qui les rendent difficiles à gérer dans te traitement automatique des langues. Dans nos travaux, nous montrons qu’il est pourtant possible de profiter de ce cette caractéristique des EP afin d’améliorer les résultats d’analyse syntaxique. Notamment, avec les grammaires d’arbres adjoints (TAGs), qui fournissent un cadre naturel et puissant pour la modélisation des EP, ainsi qu’avec des stratégies de recherche basées sur l’algorithme A* , il est possible d’obtenir des gains importants au niveau de la vitesse sans pour autant détériorer la qualité de l’analyse syntaxique. Cela contraste avec des méthodes purement statistiques qui, malgré l’efficacité, ne fournissent pas de solutions satisfaisantes en ce qui concerne les EP. Nous proposons un analyseur syntaxique novateur qui combine les grammaires TAG avec La technique A*, axé sur la prédiction des EP, dont les fonctionnalités permettent des applications à grande échelle, facilement extensible au contexte probabiliste
In this thesis, we focus on multiword expressions (MWEs) and their relationships with syntactic parsing. The latter task consists in retrieving the syntactic relations holding between the words in a given sentence. The challenge of MWEs in this respect is that, in contrast to regular linguistic expressions, they exhibit various irregular properties which make them harder to deal with in natural language processing. In our work, we show that the challenge of the MWE-related irregularities can be turned into an advantage in practical symbolic parsing. Namely, with tree adjoining grammars (TAGs), which provide first-cLass support for MWEs, and A* search strategies, considerable speed-up gains can be achieved by promoting MWE-based analyses with virtually no loss in syntactic parsing accuracy. This is in contrast to purely statistical state-of-the-art parsers, which, despite efficiency, provide no satisfactory support for MWEs. We contribute a TAG-A* -MWE-aware parsing architecture with facilities (grammar compression and feature structures) enabling real-world applications, easily extensible to a probabilistic framework

It has often been claimed that contemporary societies are shaped by globalization; the rapid interconnections of societies, economies, markets, flows and information potentially linking all places in the world to each other. In search for experiences, variation, escape or comfort, individuals are travelling, circulating, and migrating between places, challenging the notions of ‘home’ and ‘away’, ‘everyday’ and ‘extraordinary’. This thesis addresses the ways lifestyle-led mobilities are produced and performed, by studying the mobility trajectories and experiences of Swedes dividing their time seasonally between Sweden and Malta. It explores how movers are faced with a structural framework that both facilitates and directs their choices concerning mobility, and how they interpret and respond to these structures. It also explores the imaginaries, meanings, and feelings for place, identity, and lifestyle that the movers negotiate through their mobility practices and through the links they create and sustain in places. Thus, this thesis is situated in an evolving field of research on lifestyle mobilities. Lifestyle mobilities are here defined as those mobility practices undertaken by individuals based on their freedom of choice, of a temporal or more permanent duration, with or without any significant ‘home base(s)’, that are primarily driven by aspirations to increase ‘quality of life’, and that are primarily related to the individuals’ lifestyle values. The thesis is based on four individual papers exploring different aspects lifestyle mobility. The aim is to understand how production and performance aspects of lifestyle mobilities are related, and how notions of identity and belonging are negotiated in relation to lifestyle mobility practices. The production aspect relates to those structures and frameworks that create, facilitate, or sometimes delimit opportunities for lifestyle mobility while the performance aspect focuses on individual agency and meaning of lifestyle mobility practices. The studies are based on in-depth interviews with Swedish movers in Malta, and focus on how structural frameworks and mediations influence the ways that movers manoeuvre, manipulate or adapt to structures and influences in order to arrange their life context to achieve ‘quality of life’. A second aim focuses on the ways that movers reflect upon their identities and belongings as they travel routinely between two (or more) significant places, and how this may influence mobility practices. It is concluded that structures and mediations are both facilitating and delimiting movers’ space of choice regarding mobility decisions. Through their agency, movers negotiate their space of choice by allocating resources and experience, accessing supportive networks and tailoring their access to entitlements. The production and performance aspects of lifestyle mobility practices are interlinked in complex ways.

Co-location involves the physical placement of two schools onto one site. By some it is seen as a ‘compromise policy’ which prevents inclusion, whilst other authors argue that it offers ‘the best of both worlds’ in allowing pupils with special needs to access both mainstream and special school environments. The teacher-research presented here focused on the co-location of a special school with a mainstream secondary school. It used formal interviews and questionnaires to explore the attitudes of staff and parents towards the co-location and a ‘mosaic’ (Clark and Moss, 2001, p.1) of child-friendly methods to access the opinions of pupils from both schools. The research also included case studies of two co-located special schools which further explored the concept of co-location and considered the relationship of co-location to broader literature relating to the educational placement and inclusion of children with special needs. The research discovered that participants from the mainstream school were generally less concerned about the co-location than the special school participants. Participants from the special school were concerned about bullying, inequality and educational failure as a result of the co-location. Participants from all groups spoke with enthusiasm about the potential of the co-location to deconstruct prejudices and offer staff and pupils opportunities to learn together. The research concludes that co-located schools can be ‘autonomous’ and joined only by their physical placement on the same site, or that the schools can become ‘collaborative’ and work together to offer a unique inclusive learning environment.

In this study 64 web based services (bibliographical, patron education, patron communication and patron publication services) and best practices offered by the 70 top world university libraries and 39 top Indian University libraries were studied using different data analysis techniques like cross-tabulating for average scores and Pearson correlation coefficient and tests like Chi-Square Test and T-Test were applied to the raw data collected for final results. The library rankings as per their web-based services were correlated with their university rankings as per Webometric rankings and found that library web-based services rankings are correlating with their university rankings. Therefore, developing countries like India should improve their library web-based services rankings to improve their rankings at global level.
Doctor of Philosophy

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Cleveland State University, 2009.
Abstract. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Dec. 18, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 75-80). Available online via the OhioLINK ETD Center and also available in print.

Thesis (M.A.)--Indiana University, 2010.
Title from screen (viewed on February 26, 2010). Department of History, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Jason M. Kelly, Annie Gilbert Coleman, Monroe H. Little. Includes vitae. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-125).

JEL Classification System: Q01 - Sustainable Development; Q56 - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
The increasing awareness regarding the main environmental threats resulting from the exhausting use of the available resources has led to the expansion of the concept associated with the sustainable development. Concerning it, there is a wide range of sectors that can contribute for a more efficient exploration and use of resources. One of these sectors is the construction of buildings. This thesis aims to analyze the environmental best practices implemented by the world‟s largest eco-friendly real estate companies in the development of green buildings, and to investigate the potential additional financial benefits for their shareholders. This study begins with the identification of the communication mediums used by the group of companies selected in the disclosure of its environmental performance. Following this, it is studied the best environmental practices applied in the conceptualization, construction and use of buildings in 2006 and 2009 in order to characterize the state of development of the sector and its evolutions in this context. Finally, it is ascertained the existence of higher returns for the shareholders of these companies, by comparing their financial performance with another group deemed unsustainable. The results achieved demonstrate a positive trend in the adoption of more detailed disclosing methods regarding the sustainability strategy of these organizations. The same trend is verified in the implementation of environmental best practices, which is translated in building ecologically more efficient. However, it cannot be accurately concluded that group of sustainable companies reported financial results more attractive for shareholders.
A crescente consciencialização das principais ameaças ambientais decorrentes do uso exaustivo dos recursos disponíveis tem levado à expansão do conceito associado ao desenvolvimento sustentável. Nesta vertente, existem um vasto leque de sectores que podem contribuir para uma exploração e utilização de recursos mais eficiente. Um destes sectores é o da construção de edifícios. Esta tese destina-se a analisar as melhores práticas ambientais implementadas pelas maiores empresas ecológicas mundiais do sector imobiliário no desenvolvimento de edifícios ecológicos e na investigação de potenciais benefícios financeiros adicionais para os seus accionistas. O estudo proposto inicia-se com a identificação dos meios de comunicação utilizados pelo grupo de empresas seleccionado na divulgação da sua performance ambiental. Neste seguimento, são estudadas as melhores práticas ambientais aplicadas na conceptualização, construção e utilização de edifícios em 2006 e 2009, de forma a caracterizar o estado de desenvolvimento do sector e a sua evolução neste contexto. Por último, é averiguada a existência de retornos adicionais para os accionistas destas empresas, através da comparação da performance financeira destas com a de um outro grupo considerado não sustentável. Os resultados apurados evidenciam uma evolução positiva na adopção de métodos de divulgação da estratégia de sustentabilidade destas organizações mais detalhados. A mesma evolução é registada na implementação de práticas ambientais, caracterizando-se na construção de edifícios ecologicamente mais eficientes. No entanto, não pode ser confluir com exactidão que as empresas sustentáveis apresentaram resultados financeiros mais atractivos para os accionistas.

In this compendium, we hope to continue the efforts of Bates (2000) and others who have convincingly argued the need for institutional strategic planning and adoption of best practices in learning technology management as institutions transform themselves in the new millennium. We offer here a snapshot of contemporary best practices in learning technology planning and management, based on case studies from leading higher educational institutions in Canada, the United States, Australia and Spain. While we make no claim to completeness, it is our hope that this collection and the associated resources we note will be of interest to key decision makers in the academic communities of universities and colleges, including heads of departments, deans, vice presidents, and presidents. It is also aimed at faculty members concerned with teaching and learning policies and practices.

The purpose of this thesis was to develop the best practices for completing a comparative analysis for a cultural landscape World Heritage nomination document. The research focused on existing secondary documents including written reports and nomination documents, as well as experts’ opinions. The two objectives of the research were to complete an examination of the existing World Heritage literature and to establish the best practices to undertake the comparative analysis. A comparative analysis is required to provide comparisons of the nominated site with sites that are on the World Heritage List and those that are not. The material emphasis of the World Heritage Committee review process is challenging for associative cultural landscape nominations. The individuality of each landscape and associated culture is what makes traditional sites unique and challenging to compare to other global sites.

碩士
中華科技大學
建築工程與環境設計研究所
100
Low Carbor eren Zerocarbon green building is world trend of the architecture development, 2010 Shanghai World Expo, "City Exhibition" elected the 14 most outstanding case Museum, located on the "urban best practice area". 5 case Pavilion, Carbon reduction for Energy Saving building techniques and renewable energy to apply exceptional practices, including China, "Shanghai Eco-Home", and France "Alsace Regional Museum", and Germany "Burger homes" or United Kingdom "Zero-Carbon Museum of London" or Spain "Madrid Pavilion" and so on. Hope that through this article more than five cases Museum, exhibition space of research of energy-saving technologies, and explores its Taiwan possibility of application field of green building. First of all, explore the environmental background and review of the literature, about green nature of the building, the foundations of arguments, and look for the "urban best practice area of" intrinsic value of five cases. Secondly, the author repeatedly to on-site visits, surveys, "energy-saving technologies" application and reference books, magazines and newspapers, networks, and other, extensive data collection.Last summarized out Shanghai Expo city best experimental area five case Museum of "energy-saving technology", total 41 items, details column "usually in Taiwan using of energy-saving technology using possibilities tables" (table 7-1) ~ (table 7-3), which does not for using in Taiwan green building pointer who has 1 items-the "sunshine room", has yet to be further research, or in has conditions Xia user has 8 items; can directly using in Taiwan green building pointer who total 32 items. This in-depth study and discussion on Shanghai World Expo "urban best practice area" Museum of five cases of "energy-saving technologies", hope can provide architectural design profession. At the same time, for the competent national "green building" policy unit, the "green building" research unit, and the "green building standard chapter" technical authority, make suggestions respectively. Proposed "Taiwan chapter green building standard" deal with "materials" and "long life building" more than ink. Here, sincerely hope my Green the built environment, A step by step towards "Zero Carbon Practice" Towards the Final Miles.

La fonction paternelle d’ouverture sur le monde (FPOM) est un concept récent dans le domaine de la recherche sur l’engagement paternel. Les liens entre les pratiques parentales et les représentations mentales qui sont associées à cette forme d’engagement paternel, les comportements et le développement des enfants sont peu connus. Cette étude transversale avait pour objet l’atteinte de deux objectifs, d’abord vérifier les liens prédictifs entre les dimensions de la FPOM, le sentiment de compétence parentale (SCP) des pères et la qualité de la relation d’attachement père-enfant. Ensuite, examiner le rôle potentiellement modérateur du SCP des pères sur les liens significatifs entre les dimensions de la FPOM et la qualité de la relation d’attachement père-enfant. Les données proviennent d’un échantillon de 200 pères québécois francophones ayant répondu à un questionnaire autorévélé. Leur enfant était âgé entre 5 et 13 ans (1ere à 6e année du primaire). Des modèles de régression linéaire hiérarchique ont été utilisés pour vérifier l’influence de l’effet modérateur. Les résultats montrent des corrélations positives significatives entre les dimensions « stimulation à la persévérance » et « discipline et enseignement des responsabilités » de la FPOM et la qualité de la relation d’attachement père-enfant. Les dimensions de la stimulation à la prise de risque et à la compétition de la FPOM ne sont pas corrélées à la qualité de la relation d’attachement père-enfant. Contrairement aux résultats attendus, le SCP des pères n’a pas d’effet modérateur sur les liens significatifs obtenus, mais plutôt un effet additif se traduisant par la présence de relations transactionnelles entre les variables. Des analyses complémentaires révèlent un effet modérateur marginalement significatif du SCP des pères sur le lien entre la stimulation à la persévérance de la FPOM et l’échelle « plaisir et sécurité » du questionnaire sur la qualité de la relation d’attachement père-enfant (QQRAPE). La propension des pères à stimuler leur enfant à persévérer émerge plus particulièrement lors d’activités ludiques et elle contribue au développement du sentiment de confiance et de sécurité personnelle de leur enfant. Ces résultats sont discutés en regard de la littérature actuelle afin de mieux comprendre les liens entre les variables.
The Paternal Openness to the World Function (POWF) is a recent concept in the father involvement field of research. Links between parental practices and mental representations associated with this form of father involvement, children behaviors and development have yet to be known. This cross-sectional study addressed two objectives. First, to verify the predictive links between the dimensions of the POWF, the fathers Parental Sense Of Competence (PSOC) and the father-child attachment relationship quality. Second, to examine the potential moderator role of the fathers PSOC on the significative links between the dimensions of the POWF and the father-child attachment relationship quality. The data come from a sample of 200 french speaking fathers who filled out a self-reported questionnary. Their child was between 5 (first grade) and 13 years old (sixth grade). Hierarchical linear regression models were used to verify the influence of the moderator effect. The results show significative positive links between the dimensions of “perseverance stimulation” and “disciplinary and tasks teaching” of the POWF and the father-child attachment relationship quality. The dimensions of risk taking and competition stimulation of the POWF are not correlated to the father-child attachment relationship quality. Contrary to expected results, the fathers PSOC has no moderator effect on the significative links, but rather an additive effect which can be translated has transactional relationships between these variables. Complementary analyses reveal a marginally significative moderator effect of the fathers PSOC on the link between perseverance stimulation of the POWF and the “pleasure and security” scale of the Father-Child Attachment Relationship Quality Questionnary (FCARQQ). The fathers propension to stimulate their child to persevere emerge more particularly in playfull activities and contribute to the development of the felling of confidence and personnal security of their child. Results are discussed in light of actual literature in order the have a better understanding of the links between these variables.