Darbe apžvelgiamas Europos Sąjungos vaidmuo, vystant gerą viešąjį valdymą Lietuvoje. Aptariama gero viešojo valdymo samprata ir kaip jį traktuoja tarptautinės organizacijos. Baltoji knyga dėl Europos valdymo, skaidrumo iniciatyva, konsultacijos su visuomene bei Europos ombudsmenas prisideda prie gero viešojo valdymo skatinimo. Darbe apžvelgiamas Bendrojo vertinimo modelis, kuris yra skirtas visoms Europos viešojo administravimo organizacijoms, norinčioms tobulinti savo veiklą. Šis modelis yra vienas populiariausių kokybės vadybos taikymo priemonių Europoje. Geras viešasis valdymas remiasi orientacija į žmogų. Europos Sąjungoje vyraujančius efektyvumo, skaidrumo, rezultatyvumo, dalyvavimo principus stengiamasi įdiegti Lietuvos viešajame valdyme. Europos Sąjungoje yra išskiriami penki gero viešojo valdymo principai: atvirumas, dalyvavimas, atskaitomybė, veiksmingumas, darnumas. Prie gero viešojo valdymo tobulinimo prisideda Europos Sąjungos gerosios praktikos pavyzdžiai, kurie suteikia naujų žinių, idėjų, kaip galima pagerinti esamą padėtį. Nuoseklus, užtikrintas ir kryptingas darbas viešojo valdymo srityje, padeda siekti geresnių rezultatų, piliečių įtraukimo, naujų metodų diegimo bei problemų sprendimo būdų. Viešojo valdymo institucijos, kurios remiasi skaidrumu, atvirumu, atsakingumu, bendradarbiaudamos su piliečiais, privačiu sektoriumi, nevyriausybinėmis organizacijomis yra pajėgios kurti gerą viešąjį valdymą. Nacionalinis bendradrabiavimas yra svarbus veiksnys, tačiau... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The paper gives an overview of the European Union’s role in the development of good public administration in Lithuania. It discusses the concept of good governance and how it is treated by international organizations. White Paper on European governance, transparency initiative, in consultation with the public and the Ombudsman contributes to the promotion of good governance. The paper gives an overview of the Common Assessment Framework, which is open to all European public administration organizations wishing to improve their performance. This model is one of the most popular application of quality management activities in Europe. Good public governance is based on the orientation of the individual. European Union, the prevailing efficiency, transparency, effectiveness, participation in efforts to implement the principles of Lithuanian public governance. European Union has released five principles of good governance: openness, participation, accountability, efficiency, sustainability. To improve good governance by the European Union best practices that provide new knowledge and ideas on how to improve the situation. Consistent, secure and purposeful work in the field of public administration, contribute to better outcomes, civic involvement, introduction of new methods and solutions. Public administrations, which are based on transparency, openness, accountability, cooperation with citizens, the private sector, non-governmental organizations are able to develop good... [to full text]

Pirmojoje darbo dalyje atlikta Bendrojo vertinimo modelio taikymo viešojo sektoriaus organizacijose analizė teoriniu požiūriu: išnagrinėtas visuotinės vadybos kokybės principų taikymas didinant viešojo sektoriaus efektyvumą, kokybės vadybos metodų taikymas viešajame administravime, Bendrojo vertinimo modelio samprata ir struktūra. Antrojoje darbo dalyje: išnagrinėtas Bendrojo vertinimo modelio taikymo Lietuvos viešojo sektoriaus organizacijose plėtra; išanalizuoti Bendrojo vertinimo modelio diegimo 2011 metais Kauno rajono savivaldybės administracijoje rezultatai; sudaryta Kauno rajono savivaldybės administracijos veiklos vertinimo pagal Bendrojo vertinimo modelio kriterijus metodika; atliktas Kauno rajono savivaldybės administracijos veiklos vertinimas pagal Bendrojo vertinimo modelio kriterijus; palyginti skirtingų metų Kauno rajono savivaldybės administracijos veiklos vertinimų pagal Bendrojo vertinimo modelio kriterijus rezultatai. Trečiojoje darbo dalyje pateiktos silpnosios Kauno rajono savivaldybės administracijos veiklos sritys ir iš jų kylančios veiklos administravimo problemos, identifikuoti Kauno rajono savivaldybės administracijos veiklų valdymo hierarchiniai lygiai, pasiūlytas Kauno rajono savivaldybės administracijos veiklos tobulinimo planas. Praktinė darbo reikšmė: identifikuotos Kauno rajono savivaldybės veiklos problemos. Nustatyta, jog Kauno rajono savivaldybės administracijoje nėra užtikrinta komunikacija tarp politinio – administracinio – vykdančiojo... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / In the first part of the work of the Common Assessment Framework of public sector organizations in terms of theoretical analysis: examination of general quality management principles to increase public sector efficiency, quality management methods in public administration, the Common Assessment Framework and the concept of structure. In the second part, examined Common Assessment Framework application Lithuanian public sector organizations in the development, to analyze the implementation of the Common Assessment Framework in 2011, Kaunas District Municipality results of up Kaunas District Municipality performance assessment under the Common Assessment Framework criteria methodology performed Kaunas District Municipality performance evaluation by Common Assessment Framework criteria to compare different years Kaunas district Municipality veiklosvertinimų from Common Assessment Framework test results. The third part of the weak Kaunas district municipality administration activities and their resulting performance management problems, identify the Kaunas District Municipality hierarchical management levels, the proposed Kaunas District Municipality performance improvement plan. Practical significance: Kaunas District Municipality identified performance problems. It was found that the Kaunas District Municipality does not guarantee communication between the political - administrative - operational level, it is a lack of administrative cooperation heads of structural divisions of... [to full text]

Over the past few years many changes have taken place in the content and presentation of teacher education programmes in South Africa due to the paradigm shift from teaching to learning. As a result, the primary learning environment for undergraduate students, the fairly passive lecture-discussion format where teacher educators talk and most students listen, is contrary to almost every principle of an optimal student learning setting. The current view in teacher education is that teacher educators should create learner-centred and learner-controlled environments where student learning and success determine the boundary. The idea of focusing on learning rather than teaching requires that teacher educators rethink their role and the role of students in the teaching and learning process. When focussing on learning rather than teaching, teacher educators must challenge their basic assumptions about how people learn and what the roles of teacher educators should be. It may be necessary to unlearn previously acquired teaching habits, and rethink the role of assessment and feedback in learning. Meaningful, formative assessment can play a key role in shifting to a learner-centred approach because it provides important information to both students and teacher educators at all stages of the learning process. To achieve this, it is essential that teacher educators do not simply add assessment as an extra to an existing, non-interactive scheme of work, but that they integrate assessment effectively and efficiently with their instruction. This requires a major shift in how assessment is planned and integrated and a working framework for integrating assessment with instruction can be most valuable to teacher educators. The purpose of this study was to: Determine the nature and scope of ESL teacher educators' tasks, within a Faculty of Education Sciences, at a tertiary institution. Determine the extent to which ESL teacher educators are implementing a learner-centred approach to teaching and learning. Identify the factors, if any, that impede the transition to a learner-centred approach to teaching and learning. Provide recommendations to facilitate the implementation of a learner-centred approach to teaching and learning. Determine how, when and how often ESL teacher educators are currently conducting assessment. Identify possible shortcomings of the existing assessment system of ESL teacher educators. Provide a framework for implementing assessment within a learner-centred approach to teaching and learning. A one-shot cross-sectional survey design was used in this study. The participants included all the teacher educators (N=5) within the Subject Group English in the Faculty of Education Sciences .at the Potchefstroom University. Three data collection techniques were used in this study, namely a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. The purpose was to triangulate the data in order to get as complete a picture as possible of the extent to which the teacher educators' teaching and learning ~racticesre flected a focus on learner-centredness. The results of the study can be summarised as follows: Descriptive statistics (means and percentages) were used to analyse the data. The data collected during the interviews were reported as narratives. The results indicated that the teacher educators in this study spent a significant percentage of their time on preparation for class meetings and assessment. Each teacher educator taught for the full twelve weeks of each semester and, therefore, did not have one week free of teaching the entire year. Although the teacher educators embraced some learner-centred methods such as group work and interactive class discussions, they still assumed most of the responsibility for the learning processes and classroom behaviour of the students. They mainly focused on what to present in the contact sessions and spent time organizing presentations of information rather than developing materials to facilitate learning. The teacher educators often reverted to more familiar, traditional approaches and emphasized the following issues as affecting the effective and efficient transition to learner-centredness: curriculum coverage and lack of time, lack of proper training, size of student groups, other teacher educators' cynical attitudes and students' attitudes towards learning. The teacher educators made use of a variety of assessment methods and assessed students continuously, but these assessments were not used for promoting student learning, but rather for grading purposes. Students received traditional feedback such as grades, marks and scores, but they seldom received feedback on what they did wrong and how they could rectify it. Overall, it was assessment of learning and not assessment for learning. A major factor impeding the implementation of a learner-centred assessment approach was the demand formative assessment methods placed on the professional time of the teacher educators. In order to utilise time effectively and integrate assessment with the instructional design, teacher educators expressed the need for a workable framework to assist them in planning their assessment practices. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

Land-use change (LUC) or land use has been largely responsible for a large part of carbon dioxide emissions and soil degradation. The increased demand for bioenergy has led to the expansion of sugarcane areas in the south-central region, especially in areas previously used as pasture, and increased demand for food has expanded the use of marginal soils (i.e, sandy). In this way, the native vegetation gave place to the areas with pastures and, later, the transformed pastures in fields for the production of grains or bioenergy. However, despite the high positive economic impact for the country through the production of soybeans and sugarcane, it is not known how this LUC is affecting the resources and the quality of the soil. For this, in this work the indicators to evaluate soil quality under different land uses in the tropical transition region of southern Brazil were measured. Four land uses (native vegetation, pasture, sugarcane, and soybean) were evaluated in three sites with different soil conditions. The hypothesis tested in this study was that intensification of agriculture through pasture management, soybean cultivation under no-tillage system (NT), integrated crop-livestock system (ICLS) and sugarcane improved soil quality. Soil samples were collected in three layers (0.0 - 0.10, 0.10 - 0.20, 0.20 -0.30 m) in Londrina, Santo Inácio and São Jorge do Ivaí, northern- PR- Brazil. Physical, chemical, biological attributes, stocks of carbon and nitrogen were analyzed in the laboratory. A Soil Quality Index (SQI) was also calculated using the Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF). The results point to the enormous potential of soil carbon sequestration through NT, ICLS and pasture management, especially in the marginal areas in the process of agricultural expansion in Brazil. In addition, it was concluded that land use with soybean and sugarcane does not induce physical and chemical degradation of the soil in relation to pasture, but the low carbon and nitrogen inventory in the soil, and the lower SQI, the expansion of sugarcane should be avoided in sandy soils. / A mudança de uso da terra (MUT), ou o uso da terra, tem sido responsável, globalmente, por grande parte das emissões de dióxido de carbono e pela degradação do solo. O aumento da demanda por bioenergia, tem ocasionado a expansão das áreas de cana-de-açúcar na região centro sul, principalmente em áreas que anteriormente eram usadas como pastagem, e o aumento da demanda por alimentos tem expandido as áreas de produção de grãos para solos marginais (ou seja, arenosos). Desta forma, a vegetação nativa deu lugar às áreas com pastagens e, posteriormente, as pastagens transformadas em lavouras para a produção de grãos ou bioenergia. Contudo, apesar do alto impacto econômico positivo para o país através da produção da soja e da cana-de-açúcar, não se tem conhecimento de como esta MUT está afetando os recursos e a qualidade do solo. Para isto, neste trabalho mensuramos indicadores para avaliar a qualidade do solo sob diferentes usos na região de transição tropical no Sul do Brasil. Foram avaliados quatro usos da terra (vegetação nativa, pastagem, cultivo com cana-de-açúcar e cultivo com soja) em três locais com condições de solo distintas. A hipótese testada neste trabalho foi que a intensificação da agricultura através do manejo das pastagens, do cultivo da soja em sistema plantio direto (SPD), integração lavoura pecuária (ILP) e da cana-de-açúcar melhoram a qualidade do solo. Amostras de solo foram coletadas em três camadas (0,0 – 0,10; 0,10 – 0,20; e 0,20 – 0,30 m) nos municípios de Londrina, Santo Inácio e São Jorge do Ivaí, região norte do PR. Foram analisados, em laboratório, atributos físicos, químicos, biológicos, estoques de carbono e nitrogênio do solo. Também foi calculado um índice de qualidade do solo (IQS) através da Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF). Os resultados apontam enorme potencial de sequestro de carbono no solo através do SPD, ILP e manejo das pastagens, principalmente nas áreas marginais em processo de expansão da agricultura no Brasil. Além disso, concluiu-se que o uso da terra com soja e cana-de-açúcar não induz degradação física e química do solo em relação a pastagem, porém o baixo estoque de carbono e nitrogênio no solo, e o menor IQS, orientam que a expansão da cana-de-açúcar deve ser evitada em solos arenosos.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:48:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 GlauberGA_DISSERT.pdf: 1911240 bytes, checksum: d05b0c889069153931de4df556e69157 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-07-29 / Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior / A avalia??o formativa da aprendizagem ? um processo que verifica se as a??es pedag?gicas produziram resultados efetivos nos aprendizes em tempo de reverter quadros de defici?ncia de aprendizagem. No entanto, essa avalia??o, mesmo sendo importante, ? rejeitada por muitos professores sob o argumento de serem complexas e invi?veis e, por muitos alunos, por serem consideradas cansativas. A sua instrumenta??o convencional ? tamb?m outro entrave ? sua pr?tica tendo em vista os formul?rios impressos ma?antes e de log?stica dif?cil. Mesmo as avalia??es formativas automatizadas s?o cansativas, porque apenas transportam o documento em papel para uma tela de computador. Nesse sentido, esta pesquisa apresenta uma proposta de um framework conceitual com a descri??o de componentes que apoiam a instrumenta??o de avalia??es formativas em jogos digitais com a finalidade de torn?-las mais fact?veis e estimulantes na pr?tica pedag?gica. O framework incorpora procedimentos e t?cnicas em quatro momentos fundamentais da avalia??o formativa: nas defini??es do instrumento de avalia??o, da coleta e an?lise de dados e da regula??o da aprendizagem. Essas t?cnicas e procedimentos devem integrar o projeto de desenvolvimento do jogo digital para que esses disponibilizem a sua interface na coleta de dados de aquisi??o de conhecimento dos alunos enquanto jogam. Por ser um framework aberto, ? poss?vel que seja estendido por pesquisadores, professores e desenvolvedores de jogos, afim de abranger mais aspectos da avalia??o formativa. Com essas carater?sticas, o framework pode beneficiar a viabilidade das avalia??es durante o processo ensino-aprendizagem e prover aos professores informa??es que o auxiliem nas decis?es sobre o n?vel de aquisi??o de conhecimento dos alunos. Isto posto, cabe ressaltar que o framework, ora proposto, foi instanciado apenas como prova de conceito e necessita de avalia??es da sua consist?ncia atrav?s de experimentos e estudos de casos, a??es que ser?o executadas em trabalhos futuros

Business Intelligence (BI) and data analytics has grown to become one of the most prioritized technological investments for organizations today. For BI systems to be valuable for organizations’ decision making and support of end-users, research argues that competencies of multiple areas need to be represented in the work with BI. This includes knowledge of both IT and business domains, where challenges such as lack of domain competencies have been identified in the Swedish industry sector. The purpose of this study is therefore to investigate the representation of BI competencies, with focus on IT, business domain, data analytics and their integration. The research is conducted through a qualitative case study at ASSA ABLOY, a leading company in the Swedish industry sector, where interviews are made with respondents involved with five BI tools from different functions of the company. The empirical findings show that competencies of IT and business domains are represented to a higher degree than data analytics. In addition, the findings show that while integration between these areas is being promoted, there is potential for further involvement with in-house IT and a need for cross-border knowledge to bridge the gap between functions involved with BI.

The development of the European water policy has been in a continuous improvement process during the last fifty years. The adoption of Water Framework Directive (WFD) enabled the consolidation of a fragmented policy to comprehensive approach with a focus on sustainability. The floods Directive was developed as acomplement to the WFD and promoted their integration. However, several opportunities have been identified in the implementation and in achieving integration. This paper identifies integration gaps faced by practitionersand develops an assessment framework which can be used by diverse stakeholders from policy makers to water users to understand the degree of integration in a systematic way. Indicators within the framework can shed light on the progress and optimize the development of action plans to address integration gaps and achieveefficiency gains. Although not a remedy for the complex challenges, establishing measuring systems is a first step to ensure integration of current and future directives.

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<p dir="ltr">There has been an increased urgency toward mitigating climate change in the past several years. Global warming is causing a climate crisis, affecting ecosystems' ability to reduce extreme events. There is a need for rapid decarbonization while still maintaining healthy economic growth and development. Several nations have adopted various policies and set goals to minimize the impact on human society and mitigate the effects of climate change. While this is a step in the right direction, the rate at which these policies are implemented needs to be accelerated to reach the decarbonization goals that have been set. The prime pillars of decarbonization include adopting renewable energy systems, increasing energy efficiency, industrial electrification, low carbon feedstock, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage.</p><p dir="ltr">There is a pressing need for technological improvements in these areas. Renewable energy sources are not only inexhaustible but also reduce the dependence on fossil-based feedstock and lower air pollution, decreasing the risk of climate change. One of the more significant challenges of adopting renewable energy is the upfront investment required to set up the necessary infrastructure. The first objective of this research is to provide well-researched information on the impacts of the planned renewable energy projects. This research evaluates the effects of expanding offshore wind energy and adopting biobased plastics within the U.S. economy. Using industrial ecology methods, including macroeconomic Input-Output models and Material Flow Analysis through Physical Input-Output Tables, this study assesses the broader economic and environmental impacts of these renewable solutions. A multiregional macroeconomic Input-Output (MRIO) model for the U.S. was developed using the U.S. Industrial Ecology Virtual Laboratory, enhanced with a regional GHG emissions database. This enabled a spatial analysis of economic and emissions impacts from offshore wind energy expansion. Findings show an economic payback period similar to other renewables, with a notably short carbon payback period of less than 6 months. Another objective of this research emphasizes the need for and the effect of implementing circular economy opportunities to boost resource efficiency. It is explicitly designed around the manufacturing of bioplastics from agricultural residue that have the potential to combat the critical environmental issue of plastic pollution. This report elucidates the likely impact of manufacturing these materials on the economy and the environment. Process systems engineering models for polylactic acid (PLA) bioplastics manufacturing were integrated into a national-scale Input-Output model to restructure the U.S. economic model for bioplastics expansion. Results show a potential emissions reduction of up to 35%. It also seeks to evaluate the impacts of replacing different types of plastic packaging with bio-based alternatives using PIOT Hub. This tool demonstrates the potential of replacing pharmaceutical packaging with agro-residue-based bioplastics, supporting a circular economy to mitigate environmental impacts in these sectors. This research highlights bio-based packaging's role in reducing pollution and promoting resource efficiency, showing both environmental and economic benefits of these sustainable materials.</p><p><br></p>

This study aimed to explore existing quality improvement activities in primary health care setting in South Africa. Two sets of questionnaires were used to collect data from both patients and nurse managers. Findings indicated that clinics were generally acceptable and affordable to patients, but should operate for longer time-periods, that sorting of patients and long waiting times, coupled with short consultation time-periods, warranted immediate remedial actions. Only five of the fourteen listed quality initiatives were satisfactorily practised. It was concluded that despite many obstacles and difficulties as mentioned by respondents, the issue of quality-improvement in primary health care is receiving attention, but should still be improved to a greater extent. / Health Studies / M.A. (Advanced Nursing Sciences)