Introduction The NHS emphasises programme approaches to commissioning (Health Improvement Programmes and National Service Frameworks) but research is limited. I evaluated the Health Care Programme Approach (HCPA) for stroke whose individual elements are: a co-ordinating group; a co-ordinator; a technical document; and agreement of priorities. Methods 1 Four rounds of interviews with managers and clinicians; observation at meetings; analysis of documentary sources. 2 Quantitative indicators of progress measured at two time points. 3 Estimation of the Programme Budget and Transaction Costs from published sources and local data. 4 Interviews with Directors of Public Health from nine comparator districts. Results 1A structured process led to a set of priorities, which were widely accepted across all agencies, allowing the co-ordinating group to focus on facilitating change. This group took two years to reach a stage where it could change services. Most peoples upportedth e approachb ut were not alwaysc lear aboutt he process. 2 The indicators showed improvements in some aspects of care. 3 The programme budget was £IOm, mostly in long-term care (£5.5m) and hospital care (£3m). The transaction costs amounted to 0.25% of the programme budget. Preface 4 All comparator districts reported changes to commissioning and improvements in stroke services, but I found more widespread change in the study district. Discussion The detailed description of process, and use of multiple methods, gives strength to the findings. A collaborative approach has developed across the NHS during the period of this study making the findings highly relevant. There were important lessons for multiagency groups including: the time needed to function effectively; the need for individuals to clarify whether they represent an organisation or their own perspective; the need to review the group remit and the group's routes of communication; and the ability to adapt to changes in national policy while focusing on improving the health of the patients who fall within the programme. Keywords Planning, Purchasing, Commissioning, Stroke Services, Health Care Programme Approach, Evidence-Based, Multiagency Collaboration, Triangulation, Evaluation, Case Study.

This dissertation seeks to recover the relational quality of the Holy Spirit who is the Lord and the Giver of life as enshrined in the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (381). Neo-Scholastic theology had utilized the conceptual categories of Aristotelian metaphysics with its orientation to foundationalism and immobility in a manner destructive of difference, plurality, and the relational language of the Spirit as witnessed in the Bible. One of the upshots became the totalizing bent of Western epistemology which eventually found concretion in colonialism and the slavery of Africans among others. This dissertation utilizes the category of "relationality," a core tenet of West African Weltanschauungen, as an organizing and interpretive device for reinterpreting the creedal affirmation in a way that allows for new understandings of the Spirit. In our world in which there is an increasing awareness of the simultaneity of the dialectic of differences and interconnectedness due to the process of globalization, we are compelled to seek ways of living together without subordinating difference to the regime of sameness. The thesis is that relational pneumatology provides template for negotiating an other discourse on the Triune God which recognizes and respects equality-in-difference. To develop this thesis, I utilize an anthropological, interdisciplinary, critical, and descriptive approach. I argue that relational pneumatology invites that subalternized epistemic potentials be foregrounded and legitimized in a manner that fosters "solidarity of others." I also draw the implications of this perspective for the Nigerian church with regard to ecclesial structures and authority, interreligious dialogue, and the question of holistic liberation that fosters justice and peace. / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts / Theology / PhD / Dissertation

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This report forms part of the research project “Sustainable Energy and Climate Strategies – development and potential”, which is financed by the Swedish Energy Agency’s Sustainable Municipality programme. In this research project, case studies of the processes to develop energy strategies in five municipalities were prepared. The five municipalities were participants in the Sustainable Municipality programme’s second phase, which began in 2008, and represent different types of municipality, in terms of geography and population. This report presents analysis of the five case studies, using a policy theoretical perspective to focus on issues including how problems and solutions are identified and formulated, which solutions are proposed, which actors are included or excluded from the process, and which local resources are used or not used in the process. The report reflects on the implications of increasing stakeholder cooperation in energy planning processes and using different types of organisational approaches during the development of energy and climate strategies. Each case study began with an inventory of publically-available documents shaping the context for energy and climate strategies in each municipality. These documents were compiled in time lines showing the documents or decisions influencing energy planning in each municipality. Subsequently, group interviews were held with participants in planning processes in each of the five municipalities. In addition, individual interviews took place with stakeholders who had been active in the processes. Interviews were recorded and then transcribed. The results from the document study and interviews were then compiled in a summary of each municipality’s energy planning process, forming the basis for the analysis in this report. The case studies highlight both similarities and differences with regard to the organisation of work to develop and introduce energy strategies. All municipalities established, at an early stage, internal organisations for the process and throughout the processes, the organisational form, participants and their role, and division of tasks and responsibilities were fairly clear. For example, all five municipalities made use of Steering Groups and Working Groups, although the extent of the roles which these groups played – and the background of their members - varied. Four municipalities had a Reference Group in which external stakeholders were represented. A number of other constellations, including thematic working groups, were present in some but not all municipalities. The municipalities also took different steps in their energy planning processes and identified different drivers stimulating their activities. Participants from one municipality considered the Sustainable Municipality programme as a pivotal moment in their strategic energy work, whereas others felt the programme did not significantly influence their approach or outputs. The report identifies a number of factors influencing the development and implementation of municipal energy strategies, as well as a strategy’s scope and content. / Hållbara Energi och klimatstrategier- lärdomar och potential

This thesis addresses the question ‘How and why does collaboration influence the outcomes of stakeholders in the Jeddah Festival?’ Past research has found that a number of characteristics of stakeholder collaboration are important in achieving desired group and individual outcomes. While these studies have identified various relationships between individual characteristics and selected outcomes, there has been little research on their relative importance and interaction. Within the events literature, the characteristics of inter-organization stakeholder collaboration, the different outcomes required from this collaboration and the correlation between characteristics and outcomes have received little attention. This research addresses this gap and examines the perceptions of event stakeholders regarding the characteristics of collaboration and the collaborative outcomes perceived as important. It also explores the differences in collaborative characteristics and outcomes for stakeholder salience groups. In particular it applies a single case study design to examine the interaction between the collaboration characteristics and outcome for stakeholders involved in the Jeddah Festival held annually in Jeddah Saudi Arabia. The research uses content analysis of transcribed interviews conducted with Jeddah Festival stakeholder’s to identify the characteristics of stakeholder collaboration and collaborative outcomes. Results indicate that governance and trust were the characteristics of collaboration with the highest frequencies during interviews. Outcomes of collaboration were identified at the individual and collective level with network development, resources and social capital most frequently mentioned. A correlation analysis between characteristics and outcomes using a Spearman rank correlation identified that governance and trust were the characteristics with the most significance for achieving both individual and collective outcomes. Stakeholder salience groups were found to differ in the frequency of mention of both characteristics and outcomes. The research found that the nature of the collaborative environment is positive in part due to the initial legitimatization process and also to survivor bias. Overall these findings provide evidence of the interaction between stakeholder collaboration characteristics and outcomes in the Jeddah Festival and provide guidance for how this collaboration may be improved.

In my PhD thesis I raise the claim that a main ingredient to successful design collaboration in architecture and engineering is to make sense out of the information that is provided by designers and consultants as early and comprehensively as possible. The design of buildings has become a task with such a level of complexity that a social effort is required to coordinate and integrate the various worldviews of disciplines involved. In my research I first analyse obstacles to sense-making across collaborating disciplines by investigating the worldviews and priorities of the main parties involved in the design of buildings. I then propose novel ways for exchanging knowledge and generating common understanding between design professionals during early design and I introduce the process of optioneering as one possible method to assist architectural and engineering work practice. In order to address the above issues, I have embedded myself in the engineering firm Arup in their Sydney and Melbourne offices. There, I have examined methods for communicating and integrating aspects of building performance between designers and design consultants over a period of three years. As part of my research at Arup, I have gained an understanding about the everyday requirements of design professionals for sense-making in collaborative practice.

The aim of this research was to examine the teacher’s facilitative role to engage students in Values Education (Curriculum Council, 1998) based on a cooperative and collaborative learning pedagogy. The study was conducted in a primary school classroom with thirty-one year 4/5 students aged 9-10 years of age. During the research process the core shared values underpinning the Western Australian Curriculum Framework (Curriculum Council, 1998) provided the foundation to negotiate agreements for behaviour based on The Tribes process (Gibbs, 2001), which included mutual respect, in order to foster a safe, supportive and democratic classroom culture. The Tribes process was used to operationalise the teaching of values, social skills, cooperation and collaboration. Hart’s (1992) collaborative framework informed the organisation of the classroom to create the conditions that supported collaboration amongst peers and the teacher. An action research approach was used to reflect on the classroom context and provide a focus for a range of qualitative research methods. Multiple data sources such as teacher observations, interviews, student and teacher reflection logs and sociograms were used to triangulate findings from parents, students and teachers. A sociocultural perspective (Vygotsky, 1978) provided the conceptual framework for this study as the underlying assumption is that students learn from each other, mediated by the teacher or more capable peers. The focus on the action within the social context during the development of interpersonal relationships is a key feature of peer mediated learning, which complemented the processes chosen by the teacher researcher to elucidate how a safe, supportive and democratic classroom was created. Class meetings, group work and reflective practices were used to scaffold students’ understandings of interpersonal relationships to promote a culture that was consistent with Australia’s democratic traditions. Reflective practices in the classroom provided opportunities for new perspectives to be developed, as new knowledge and experiences were integrated with existing personal practical knowledge. The major findings reflected the foci of student and teacher conversations about students’ interpersonal skills and their ability to get along with each other. In the first phase of the study establishing positive ‘relationships’ based on trust, through teambuilding activities provided the impetus for the next phase of the study about ‘leadership’. This phase continued for most of the study, and provided authentic opportunities for students to develop leadership skills, which permeated the last phase of the study about ‘friendships’. Students established mutually beneficial relationships that broadened their views about discriminatory behaviours, friendship and leadership. The major conclusions drawn from the study is that teachers play a significant role in mediating positive relationships amongst peers. Further, it was evident that the explicit teaching of core shared values (Curriculum Council, 1998) provided the foundations of productive and active citizenship during the process of creating the conditions for a safe, supportive and democratic classroom.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 191-201).

Thesis (Ph.D)--Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. / Committee Chair: Shapira, Philip; Committee Member: Hicks, Diana; Committee Member: Porter, Alan; Committee Member: Rogers, Juan; Committee Member: Schmoch, Ulrich.

Thèses (M.Sc.)--Université de Sherbrooke (Canada), 2002. / Titre de l'écran-titre (visionné le 20 juin 2006). Publié aussi en version papier.