Real estate development involves many complex, dynamic, and uncertain elements. In the pre-development stage, greater uncertainties result from the fact that the space being considered has not yet been created. Considering both the inherent characteristics of the real estate and the inefficiency of the market it operates in, any aid in the investment decision process is believed to add to the quality of the end product. This being the case, most, if not all, of the development companies make office development decisions using some kind of a procedure in the pre-development stage. However low occupancy rates and long payback periods that are being faced, even by the most recently completed Class A office projects in Turkey, show that there are serious deficiencies in these applied procedures and that they lack the necessary and important components of project feasibility analysis, which are basically the market and financial feasibility analysis, that needs to be applied in the pre-development stage of the office development process. That is why this study’s purpose is to explore and identify the deficiencies of the decision-making models currently used by Turkish real estate development companies in the pre-development stage of office development projects and to recommend necessary additions and/or deletions for the enhancement of these company models. To do so, this research involved interviews of ten office developers to identify their go/no-go decision processes in evaluating office developments in Istanbul, Turkey. The study has found that developers tend to fall under three different groups, each following different models: Group I includes exclusively construction companies, Group II includes mixed companies and Group III includes exclusively real estate investment companies. Furthermore, the research has found that similarities and differences among these three groups involve the following: While investment companies seek opportunities based on market research, decisions by construction companies are driven by the availability of land swaps. All three groups emphasize land availability and related title and land-use issues. Although unit-sale continues, there is a gradual shift to income property with the aid of improvement in the financial market, which is also reflected in the decision-making models being used.

Real estate development involves many complex, dynamic, and uncertain elements. In the pre-development stage, greater uncertainties result from the fact that the space being considered has not yet been created. Considering both the inherent characteristics of the real estate and the inefficiency of the market it operates in, any aid in the investment decision process is believed to add to the quality of the end product. This being the case, most, if not all, of the development companies make office development decisions using some kind of a procedure in the pre-development stage. However low occupancy rates and long payback periods that are being faced, even by the most recently completed Class A office projects in Turkey, show that there are serious deficiencies in these applied procedures and that they lack the necessary and important components of project feasibility analysis, which are basically the market and financial feasibility analysis, that needs to be applied in the pre-development stage of the office development process. That is why this study’s purpose is to explore and identify the deficiencies of the decision-making models currently used by Turkish real estate development companies in the pre-development stage of office development projects and to recommend necessary additions and/or deletions for the enhancement of these company models. To do so, this research involved interviews of ten office developers to identify their go/no-go decision processes in evaluating office developments in Istanbul, Turkey. The study has found that developers tend to fall under three different groups, each following different models: Group I includes exclusively construction companies, Group II includes mixed companies and Group III includes exclusively real estate investment companies. Furthermore, the research has found that similarities and differences among these three groups involve the following: While investment companies seek opportunities based on market research, decisions by construction companies are driven by the availability of land swaps. All three groups emphasize land availability and related title and land-use issues. Although unit-sale continues, there is a gradual shift to income property with the aid of improvement in the financial market, which is also reflected in the decision-making models being used.

This study is concerned with understanding decision-making in relation to out-of-authority educational placements for pupils with an Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) in one Local Authority (LA). The aims of this research were twofold. The first was to explore what factors have the greatest impact on the decision to educate pupils with an ASC outside the local authority. The second was to explore the perceptions of key informants about the process for deciding those placements. The study involved examining 24 pupil cases where out-of-authority ASC placements had been agreed and interviews with case-informants contributing to those placement decisions in order to analyse their beliefs and understandings about the processes of decision-making. The literature review highlights the limited research with regard to decision-making about pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and draws examples from medical decision-making frameworks. Data analysis showed that two factors, complexity and range of pupil need and lack of LA provision to match the needs identified had the greatest influence on the decision to educate pupils outside the local authority. The response of the LA’s own schools, professionals and parents to those presenting needs as well as the consequent impact on the child/young person and others were recognised secondary factors. Case-informants offered a strong impression that for the majority of these pupils successful inclusion in their own LA would require increased and more integrated services in order to meet their identified needs. Data from the qualitative interviews provides a sense of the range of informants’ experiences relating to decision-making processes and the factors determining those perceptions. These related to whether the processes had been experienced as planned, were evidenced-based, child-focused and involved effective working with parents and other agencies. The findings, in part, reflect government concerns about the current statutory SEN framework and the case for change as made in the recent Green Paper (DfE, 2011). At a local level informants identified the need for a more explicit model of decision-making, ethically grounded with an emphasis for decision-making to be based on the holistic needs of the child and viewed that this would be better facilitated by having improved joint-working between services and stronger partnership engagement between the LA and parents/carers. Clinical professional-patient shared decision-making is discussed as a potential model which might be usefully applied to better understand and develop current SEN decision making.

This research study explored practitioners' perceived understanding and situational use of seven decision-making models of educational administration. In examining the extant literature of the field, the following research problem emerged to guide this study: scholars and practitioners struggle to understand how school administrators make workplace decisions, and how school leaders perceive their decision-making strategies and actions. Based upon Pettigrew's (1985) Conceptual Framework of Organizational Change and relevant literature (see chapter 2), the researcher developed a series of questions in order to explore the aforementioned purpose and problem. Specifically, three principals, three assistant principals of curriculum, and three assistant principals for student affairs within three high schools in a large county district in west central Florida were interviewed. Research questions were developed.The questions addressed high school administrators' knowledge/famili arity and use of seven decision-making models found in extant literature (see chapter 2). The researcher also focused on how leaders perceive they make decisions in various situations, and whom and to what extent they use other educational stakeholders to make these decisions. Administrators' answers ranged widely, depending on the situation presented and/or the decision-making model discussed. Three themes/patterns/ideas emerged from survey and interview data (see chapter 5). The disconnect between leaders' decision-making model familiarity and usage was highlighted. Administrators employed classical or traditional decision-making with situations that provided ample information and guidelines. However, leaders tended to switch to the incremental or mixed-scanning model when information was lacking or policies/guidelines were unclear. Administrators strongly preferred shared leadership and suggestions for future research in the area of administration decision-making range from more emp irical studies within the practitioner field to supplementing the academy's curriculum, employing simulations and active learning regarding models of decision-making.

Thesis (MComm)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Social assistance is a large and fiscally costly component of anti-poverty policy in South Africa and therefore lends to the questions: Are the grants effective tools for reducing poverty in South Africa and, moreover, how significant is their impact on poverty? As a measure of reducing poverty and improving the non-social indicators of the poor, the government has expanded the social grants since the advent of the new democracy. The country‟s social grant system is advanced and covers a broad range of individuals, as it is intended to cover vulnerable individuals over their life course from childhood to adulthood and into old age. Policy discourse surrounding the grants centres on the sustainability of the system and their implications for development. It is therefore important that their significance is shown and that their impact is illustrated by highlighting their reach into severely poor households. As a measure of poverty alleviation on their own, the grants are not enough and South Africa‟s poverty alleviation strategy has to rest primarily on economic growth and job creation. In addition, there are significant challenges in the system, such as the fact that there is no poverty grant targeted specifically at the unemployed; consequently, too much strain is placed on the resources of grant-receiving households that the whole household is plunged into poverty. Accordingly, the question this raises is: How can government solve the problem of the poor clustering around these grants? This dissertation will systematically show that the use of social security as a poverty-alleviating tool is effective given the extent of poverty in South Africa and the limitations on resources. It will also show that the decision-making structures in households influence the way grants affect the resource allocation needed for achieving lower levels of poverty. The extent to which the cash transferred to poor households via the grant programmes reduces poverty is likely to be influenced significantly by the decision-making structures in the grant-receiving households. There is evidence that grant money is shared in extended households, which suggests that decision making is broadly unitary or cooperative. However, we can only observe the outcomes and not the decision-making process in this regard and therefore can only draw tentative conclusions. Although there is cause for concern regarding the propensity of social grants to affect people‟s behaviour negatively, there is a case to be made for retaining grants as an important, though not the only, form of anti-poverty strategy. This highlights the need for continued research on the labour market and the social grants causal relationship. It also shows that research into the fertility effects of the grants is wanting, especially if there are speculative concerns that might inform policy on the impact of CSG on fertility. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Sosiale bystand is „n groot en duur fiskale komponent van anti-armoede verligtingsbeleid in Suid Afrika en lei daarom tot die vrae: Is die toelaes effektiewe instrumente om armoede te verlig in Suid Afrika, en nog meer, hoe noemenswaardig is hulle impak op armoede? As „n maatstaf om armoede te verlig en die nie-sosiale armoede- aanwysers te verbeter van die armes, het die regering die sosiale toelaes vermeerder sedert die aanvang van demokrasie. Die land se sosiale toelae stelsel is gevorderd en dek „n wye verskeidenheid groepe van individue, aangesien dit bedoel is om weerlose individue te dek vanaf kind tot volwassene deurlopend tot die bejaarde. Beleidsdiskoers om die toelaes fokus op die volhoubaarheid van die stelsel en die implikasies daarvan vir ontwikkeling. Dit is daarom van belang dat die belangrikheid hiervan uitgewys word en die impak daarvan geillustreer word, deur op hul trefkrag te fokus in die armste van huishoudings. As „n middel to armoedeverligting op sigself is toelaes nie voldoende nie, en Suid-Afrika se armoede verligtingstrategie moet hoofsaaklik lê in werkskepping en ekonomiese groei. Verder is daar belangrike uitdagings in die stelsel, soos byvoorbeeld die feit dat daar geen armoede toelaes spesifiek gemik op die werkloses is nie; „n gevolg hiervan is dat daar te veel druk geplaas word op die bronne van die huishoudings wat toelaes ontvang en dat die hele huishouding in armoede gedompel word. Gevolglik ontstaan die vraag: Hoe kan die regering die probleem oplos van konsentrering van die armes rondom die toelaes? Hierdie dissertasie sal sistematies wys dat die gebruik van sosiale sekuriteit as „n armoede- verligtingsbeleid is effektiek gegewe die omvangreikheid van armoede in Suid Afrika en die beperkings op bronne. Dit sal ook wys dat die besluitnemingstrukture in huishoudings beinvloed die manier waarop toelaes die bron-allokasie beinvloed om laer vlakke van armoede te bereik. Die vlak waartoe die kontant oordraging na die arm huishoudings via die toelaes die vlak van armoede verlig word in alle waarskynlikheid tot „n groot mate beinvloed deur die besluitnemingstrukture in sodanige huishoudings wat toelaes ontvang. Daar is bewyse dat die toelaes gedeel word in uitgebreide huishoudings, wat daarop aandui dat besluitneming breedweg unitêr geneem word of gesamentlik. Ons kan egter slegs die uitkomste en nie die besluitnemingsproses in die verband bespeur nie en kan daarom slegs tot tentatiewe gevolgtrekkings kom. Alhoewel daar wel rede to kommer is vir die geneigdheid van toelaes om mense se gedrag negatief te beinvloed, is waar wel „n saak om toelaes te behou, hoewel nie as die enigste, maar wel as „n belangrike vorm van armoedeverligting. Dit lê die klem op die nodigheid van deurlopende navorsing op die arbeidsmark en die toelae- oorsaaklikheidsverhouding. Dit wys ook dat navorsing op die vrugbaarheidseffek van die toelaes is nodig, veral as daar spekulatiewe besorgdheid is wat die beleid op die impak van kindertoelaes op fertiliteit mag beinvloed.

Orientador: Marta Lígia Pomim Valentim / Banca: Regina Célia Baptista Belluzzo / Banca: Nádina Aparecida Moreno / Resumo: O foco desta pesquisa centra-se na produção, compartilhamento e uso da informação orgânica no âmbito do processo decisório empresarial. A informação na economia atual tornou-se fonte de valor para as organizações. A empresa que conseguir gerenciar, organizar, tratar e disseminar de maneira inteligente e estratégica esse recurso concretizará maior lucratividade e competitividade no cenário empresarial, uma vez que é tão importante quanto qualquer outro recurso existente no ambiente organizacional. A informação orgânica é produzida no ambiente interno da organização sendo produto das atividades desempenhadas no exercício de suas funções. Conhecer os elementos que envolvem esse processo auxilia enormemente os gestores, visto que o processo decisório é permeado de conflitos e diferente percepções. A informação orgânica, portanto, pode reduzir esses conflitos em contextos organizacionais, pois reduz a incerteza, propicia mais segurança e maior confiabilidade ao processo decisório, além de dinamizar o tempo das pessoas envolvidas no processo. Realizou-se uma análise de um ambiente empresarial, mais especificamente no que tange à produção, compartilhamento e uso da informação orgânica para a tomada de decisão, visto que há pouco estudo científico a respeito deste tema. O universo pesquisado foi constituído das empresas afiliadas a Rede Construnova, do segmento de material de construção, situada nas cidades da região de Marília, Estado de São Paulo, pois se configura em um segmento importante que influencia a economia local e regional. Os procedimentos metodológicos utilizados se alicerçaram na abordagem qualitativa, cujo método refere-se à pesquisa descritiva e exploratória. Como instrumentos de coleta de dados foram elaborados um questionário estruturado com perguntas fechadas um roteiro de entrevista e um roteiro de observação cujos conteúdos... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo / Abstract: The focus of this research is centered on organic information production, sharing and use on the enterprise decision making process. The information on the present economy becomes value source for organizations. The enterprise able to manage, to organize, to deal with and to disseminate this resource on an intelligent way, will achieve more profit and more competitiveness on the enterprise scenario, since it is as important as any other resource from the organizational environment. The organic information is produced on the organization's internal environment been a product of the activities made by execution its functions. Knowing the elements that involve this process gives a great help to managers once the decision making process is permeated by conflicts and different perceptions. Therefore, the organic information can reduce these conflicts on organizational contexts, because it reduces the uncertainness, propitiates more security and more trustworthiness to the decision making process, besides it gives dynamism to people's time involved on the process. It carried out an analysis of a business environment, more specifically on what concerns to production, sharing and use of organic information to decision making, because there is few scientific studies about this theme. The investigated universe was composed by the companies affiliated to Construnova Net, from construction material segment, located at Marilia Region's cities, Sao Paulo State, because it is an important segment which influences the local and regional economy. The methodological proceedings used are based on the qualitative approach which method is related to descriptive and exploratory research. As data collecting instruments were elaborated a structured questionnaire with closed questions, an interview's syllabus and observation's syllabus which contents are related to the research's aims... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2007. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-03-18Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:34:24Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 lousada_m_me_mar.pdf: 2892275 bytes, checksum: bdb4319f567dc68856b317bfe5b7c7bf (MD5) / Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) / O foco desta pesquisa centra-se na produção, compartilhamento e uso da informação orgânica no âmbito do processo decisório empresarial. A informação na economia atual tornou-se fonte de valor para as organizações. A empresa que conseguir gerenciar, organizar, tratar e disseminar de maneira inteligente e estratégica esse recurso concretizará maior lucratividade e competitividade no cenário empresarial, uma vez que é tão importante quanto qualquer outro recurso existente no ambiente organizacional. A informação orgânica é produzida no ambiente interno da organização sendo produto das atividades desempenhadas no exercício de suas funções. Conhecer os elementos que envolvem esse processo auxilia enormemente os gestores, visto que o processo decisório é permeado de conflitos e diferente percepções. A informação orgânica, portanto, pode reduzir esses conflitos em contextos organizacionais, pois reduz a incerteza, propicia mais segurança e maior confiabilidade ao processo decisório, além de dinamizar o tempo das pessoas envolvidas no processo. Realizou-se uma análise de um ambiente empresarial, mais especificamente no que tange à produção, compartilhamento e uso da informação orgânica para a tomada de decisão, visto que há pouco estudo científico a respeito deste tema. O universo pesquisado foi constituído das empresas afiliadas a Rede Construnova, do segmento de material de construção, situada nas cidades da região de Marília, Estado de São Paulo, pois se configura em um segmento importante que influencia a economia local e regional. Os procedimentos metodológicos utilizados se alicerçaram na abordagem qualitativa, cujo método refere-se à pesquisa descritiva e exploratória. Como instrumentos de coleta de dados foram elaborados um questionário estruturado com perguntas fechadas um roteiro de entrevista e um roteiro de observação cujos conteúdos... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo / The focus of this research is centered on organic information production, sharing and use on the enterprise decision making process. The information on the present economy becomes value source for organizations. The enterprise able to manage, to organize, to deal with and to disseminate this resource on an intelligent way, will achieve more profit and more competitiveness on the enterprise scenario, since it is as important as any other resource from the organizational environment. The organic information is produced on the organization’s internal environment been a product of the activities made by execution its functions. Knowing the elements that involve this process gives a great help to managers once the decision making process is permeated by conflicts and different perceptions. Therefore, the organic information can reduce these conflicts on organizational contexts, because it reduces the uncertainness, propitiates more security and more trustworthiness to the decision making process, besides it gives dynamism to people’s time involved on the process. It carried out an analysis of a business environment, more specifically on what concerns to production, sharing and use of organic information to decision making, because there is few scientific studies about this theme. The investigated universe was composed by the companies affiliated to Construnova Net, from construction material segment, located at Marilia Region’s cities, Sao Paulo State, because it is an important segment which influences the local and regional economy. The methodological proceedings used are based on the qualitative approach which method is related to descriptive and exploratory research. As data collecting instruments were elaborated a structured questionnaire with closed questions, an interview’s syllabus and observation’s syllabus which contents are related to the research’s aims... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

<p>The Food-Energy-Water (FEW) nexus conceptualizes the interactions and tension between production and consumption of food, energy, and water. With increasing uncertainties due to climate change, there is a need to address these tensions within the nexus and better comprehend the existing interdependencies and tradeoffs. Water integrity – considering both water availability and quality – is of critical concern within the FEW nexus. Thus, it is important to develop robust decision-making strategies using a FEW nexus lens. This study focuses on addressing water integrity concerns through FEW nexus assessment using an agricultural watershed in northeastern Indiana, with predominantly corn-soybean rotations, as a pilot site. Historical and futuristic climate and hydrological data were used for hydrological modeling using SWAT to quantify water quantity, quality, and crop production. Scientific literature values for farm machinery fuel requirements and their carbon emissions were implemented to obtain values based on the implemented agronomic practices. Results of this study provide methodologies and information that can be implemented to evaluate water resources management, as well as inform policymaking for more sustainable agricultural management practices.</p>

The purpose of this case study was to explore the influence of mandatory fitness testing on curriculum decision-making processes of elementary physical education teachers. The research investigated how mandatory testing influenced the teachers' planning, implementation and assessment of their lesson plans. Eight respondents currently teaching elementary physical education in northern California since the inception of the testing mandate in 1996 participated in the study. Data were collected through the use of interviews, observations, and document analysis. The teachers indicated fitness testing does not influence how they plan for lessons except for the days directly involving fitness testing. In addition, the teachers mentioned they valued fitness in their curriculum but that it was a secondary concern. Skill development and creating a more positive social environment were identified as primary learning outcomes. Furthermore, the teachers do not enjoy administering the fitness tests and suggest students feel dissatisfied as well. Reoccurring themes emerged from the results of the study: (a) planning for a lifetime, (b) allocated time to physical education, and (c) the influence of fitness testing. In essence, this study revealed a disconnect between what the teachers value versus the amount of time fitness testing takes away from other content. Contrary to what the teachers stated, the data strongly suggests that the testing does influence curricular decision-making processes.