Electronic procurement (e-procurement) has been widely adopted across the private sector, and as such various aspects of its adoption has been researched. The adoption of e-procurement in the public sector is not as widespread, especially in relation the UK Central and Local Government sectors, and accordingly there has been limited research into the factors affecting the adoption of e-procurement technologies, within this context. Consequently, this study, which has been undertaken with five case study organisations spread across the UK Central and Local Government sectors, aims to add to current published literature, and in particular provide an understanding of the relationship between the factors identified which have affected adoption, and the extent of adoption of e-procurement solutions. This research provides a number of significant contributions to current published literature including a comprehensive definition and conceptualisation of e-procurement and a holistic research framework which facilitates understanding the relationships between the level of adoption by the case study organisations and the factors affecting their decisions. Additionally, this study demonstrates that there is a high degree of commonality between the case study organisations in terms of their levels of adoption, and the factors that have affected such adoption. Of these factors, there are four that are particularly important, as they haven't previously attracted much attention in the literature. More specifically, this research highlights the importance of understanding an organisation's procurement landscape, the impact (both negative and positive) of public policy on adoption, the impact of enhanced organisational standing and the need for vision and leadership from senior stakeholders.

Professional growth is a complex process that requires thoughtful planning, persistence in execution, collaboration, and a common goal if it is to be successful. Classroom teachers have many opportunities to participate in professional development, but experiences vary and it is important to determine which have the greatest effect. The purpose of this comparative study was to examine the strengths and differences of three models of professional learning communities involved in a three-year project to improve writing instruction in kindergarten to Grade 3 classrooms. Based on the work of Routman (2008a), professional staffs at treatment schools were involved in a multi-year, inter-divisional, professional learning community. Teachers and principals in the project participated in one of three experiences of varying intensity. Results are compared to a control group of schools. The study design takes a pragmatic worldview and utilizes mixed methodology to conduct an ex post facto, quasi-experimental analysis. Artifacts collected from 2009 to 2012 include questionnaires, written self-evaluations, and samples of student writing, that were examined to determine the degree and nature of change in principals’ increased perceptiveness of the school literacy team, teachers’ increased sense of efficacy in writing instruction, and significant changes in student writing. These are compared to samples from a control group of schools that were not involved in the experience. Several aspects of this multi-year project bring to light three critical observations. First, real-time, live experiences with an expert facilitator have a dramatic effect on teacher learning. Second, students in the first four years at school are capable of much more sophistication in writing than is generally expected. Third, principals’ involvement as educational leaders is critical to enduring teacher change and ongoing student improvement. / February 2017

The overall aim of this study was to investigate how the introduction of ICT into distance education at public institutions of higher learning in South Africa during the early post-apartheid period from 1994 to 2002, provided learning opportunities for students and facilitated the delivery of learning content. More explicitly, it examined and analyzed the views and experiences of students and course facilitators at selected higher education institutions, which provided ICT-based distance education. The study also examined and analyzed the views and experiences of students regarding the services of a private on-campus Internet café located in a South African technikon (a technological institution). The empirical part of the current study was conducted in 2002, when some public higher education institutions in the country were involved in the provision of distance education as a means of increasing student participation and generating income. However, the proliferation of private actors who collaborated with some of these institutions to provide ICT-based distance education caused concern to the government that questioned their quality of content delivery. A case study research design was applied to collect, analyze and interpret quantitative and qualitative data at four universities and one technikon. Two electronic surveys were administered by email and on the Web, to self-selected students at the five case institutions. The first survey examined the views and experiences of respondents (n = 605) who participated in ICT-based distance education, while the second one investigated the views and experiences of respondents (n = 274) who used a private campus-based Internet café. Non-participant observations were made at some learning centers to understand how classes were carried out, and at the Internet café, to understand the type of services offered. Unstructured interviews were held with selected students and course facilitators at one institution, whereas informal interviews were conducted with some students and the Internet café manager. Further, a literature review was undertaken to understand certain issues and trends in ICT-based distance education, within and beyond South Africa. The findings indicate that the majority of respondents chose ICT-based distance education because it was flexible. They were also comfortable with using the English language for instruction. However, some complained that the learning materials were irrelevant and were not delivered on time. The course facilitators were generally satisfied with their work, although they were disappointed for not having the opportunity to influence changes in the study guides. Many respondents used the Internet café because they did not have any other means of accessing the Internet. Moreover, it was affordable and they used it for socializing. The study concludes that the system of instructional design and content delivery to distance education students in South Africa should be improved to become efficient. Further studies are recommended to examine the ongoing development of ICT-based distance higher education in South Africa.

Chemical dependency in the health profession is a growing concern. With easy access to controlled substances, many nurses divert prescription drugs and even work while under the influence. Nurses who are under the influence and working with patients are an obvious public hazard. Many states in the USA have non-punitive programs to offer recovery to nurses with chemical dependency and return them to work. In California this program is named the Diversion Program. Part of the requirements of successful completion of the Diversion Program is to attend weekly meetings called support groups. These support groups are facilitated by other nurses experienced in the field of chemical dependency. This study explored the experiences of nurse facilitators of support groups for nurses with chemical dependency in the California, USA, Diversion Program. Data were collected through twelve individual interviews selected through purposeful, non-probability convenience sampling. A phenomenological research design was used that was descriptive, explorative, and contextual. The data analysis revealed four major themes: (1) experience of communication within the Diversion Program; (2) experience of the structure of the Diversion Program; (3) experience of their role within the Diversion Program; and (4) experience of facilitation of support groups. The study revealed that even though many of the nurse facilitators‟ experiences were positive with respect to the support groups they expressed concern about the communication patterns within the Diversion Program. To offer support for the nurse facilitators, guidelines and a conceptual framework were created to enhance their experience and mitigate their feelings of marginalization from the Diversion Program. / Health Studies / D.Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)

Home environment should be accesible, barrier free and safe for people with disabilities. There is one possibility how to achieve these conditions the possibility is to let an occupational therapist to assess your home environment. The main parts of occupational therapy are: evaluation of home environment, suggesting of reconstrucitons needed and recommendations about helping aids. Environment is according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health one of the factors which are very important. The main goal of this diploma thesis was to design new evaluation of home environment of people with acquired brain injury made according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Partial goals were: to identify barriers of home environment, to determine facilitators which are already existing and to suggest helping aids and reconstructions if it is necessary. All for achieving the best quality of self-sufficiency of client. Theoretical part is about acquired brain injury, International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, issues of evaluation of home environment and assessments which are already existing. Practical part describes the proces of creation of evaluation and intervetions in home environment. Both described by case...

A presente tese busca analisar iniciativas de inovação social, de três diferentes formatos organizacionais, tendo por referência abordagens da Nova Sociologia Econômica (NSE). Autores dessa corrente teórica, sugerem observar as ações econômicas, a partir de uma reconfiguração dos atores sociais, neste sentido, ampliam a noção da economia para além das questões mercantis e monetárias, considerando tal, como construção social. Esta tese parte da premissa de que a inovação social (IS) surge como resposta aos crescentes desafios socioeconômicos e ambientais, provenientes do modelo econômico global neoliberal, sendo uma iniciativa social tanto no processo como resultado e, portanto, uma inovação alternativa ao atual modelo de desenvolvimento econômico. Para isto, optou-se pela análise de iniciativas socialmente inovadoras, de três diferentes organizações, sendo, o Banco Palmas - um banco comunitário, localizado em Fortaleza (CE), a organização Cidades Sem Fome - uma organização não-governamental, localizada em São Paulo (SP) e o Colab - uma empresa privada, localizada em São Paulo (SP), e com atuação em diferentes estados brasileiros. A pergunta que norteou a pesquisa foi: \"Como ocorre a dinâmica da inovação social e quais são as barreiras e facilitadores deste modelo de inovação\"? Para responder esta pergunta, utilizou-se uma abordagem de pesquisa exploratória, descritivo-qualitativa, a partir de múltiplos casos. Foram utilizadas múltiplas fontes de evidências, tendo-se recorrido, assim, à técnica de triangulação de dados, através de entrevistas semiestruturadas, observação direta e análise documental, bem como à técnica de análise de conteúdo. Os resultados mostraram que a inovação social consiste em uma ação coletiva, configurada por uma lógica participativa e colaborativa, através de uma rede de atores. A partir das iniciativas investigadas e com base nas proposições teóricas da investigação, é possível afirmar que a inovação social tem sido capaz de provocar mudanças no ambiente político-institucional em que está inserida. Têm como um dos principais facilitadores, a participação dos atores sociais - beneficiários - no processo de gestão da solução empreendida, por meio da governança compartilhada. E como uma das principais barreiras, o contexto político-institucional, no aspecto legal. Verificou-se, a partir dos casos analisados, que a inovação é social tanto no processo como no resultado, sendo capaz de gerar e fortalecer novas relações entre os atores, e ainda, contribuir para o empowerment dos beneficiários, considerando-os como co-produtores de tais iniciativas. / The present thesis seeks to analyze initiatives of social innovation, of three different organizational formats, with reference to approaches of the New Economic Sociology (NSE). Authors of this theoretical current, suggest to observe the economic actions, from a reconfiguration of the social actors, in this sense, broaden the notion of the economy beyond the mercantile and monetary questions, considering such, as social construction. This thesis is based on the premise that social innovation (IS) emerges as a response to the growing socioeconomic and environmental challenges arising from the neoliberal global economic model, being a social initiative both in the process and result, and therefore an alternative innovation to the current model of economic development. For this, we opted for the analysis of socially innovative initiatives of three different organizations: Banco Palmas - a community bank, located in Fortaleza (CE), the organization Cidades Sem Fome - a nongovernmental organization located in São Paulo (SP) and Colab - a private company, located in São Paulo (SP), and operating in different Brazilian states. The question that guided the research was: \"How does the dynamics of social innovation occur and what are the barriers and facilitators of this innovation model\"? To answer this question, we used an exploratory, descriptive-qualitative research approach, based on multiple cases. Multiple sources of evidence were used and the data triangulation technique was used, through semi-structured interviews, direct observation and documentary analysis, as well as the technique of content analysis. The results showed that social innovation consists of a collective action, configured by a participatory and collaborative logic, through a network of actors. From the initiatives investigated and based on the theoretical propositions of research, it is possible to affirm that social innovation has been able to bring about changes in the political-institutional environment in which it is inserted. They have as one of the main facilitators, the participation of social actors - beneficiaries - in the process of managing the solution undertaken, through shared governance. And as one of the main barriers, the political-institutional context, in the legal aspect. It was verified, from the analyzed cases, that innovation is social both in the process and in the result, being able to generate and to strengthen new relations between the actors, and also, to contribute to the empowerment of the beneficiaries, considering them as co-producers of such initiatives.

Limited data exist on the facilitators and barriers to implementing electronic systems for medicines management in hospitals. Whilst numerous studies advocate system use in improved patient safety and efficiency within the health service, their rate of adoption in practice has been slow. The aim of this doctoral research was to explore this under-researched area in three phases. Phase one: - Phase one focused on critically appraising and synthesising the available evidence on healthcare professionals’ perceptions, attitudes, and views of the facilitators and barriers to implementing electronic prescribing, electronic dispensing, and/or electronic administration of medicines in the hospital setting. The review protocol was registered with the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination and conducted according to best practice. Key facilitators included systems improved patient safety and provided better access to patients’ drug records and that team leadership and hardware/software availability and reliability were essential for successful implementation. Key barriers consisted of hardware and network problems, altered work practices, and weakened interpersonal communication between healthcare professionals and with patients. Phase two: - This phase employed a qualitative phenomenological design to gain original insight into the perceptions of local key stakeholders towards the facilitators and barriers to implementing prescribing, robotic pharmacy systems, and automated medication storage and retrieval systems in public hospitals in Ireland using Normalization Process Theory as a theoretical framework. Individual face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted in three public hospitals in Ireland with 23 consenting participants: nine nurses; four pharmacists; two pharmacy technicians; six doctors; and two hospital Information Technology managers. Enhanced patient safety and efficiency in healthcare delivery emerged as key facilitators to system implementation, as well as the need to have clinical champions and a multidisciplinary implementation team to promote engagement and cognitive participation. Key barriers included inadequate training and organisational support, and the need for ease and confidence in system use to achieve collective action. Phase three: - A similar qualitative methodology was employed in phase three of this research in order to explore the perceptions of national key stakeholders and eHealth leads towards the facilitators and barriers to system implementation. Sixteen consenting invitees participated: eight hospital leads, four government leads, two regulatory leads, and two academics. Key facilitators included enhanced patient safety, workflow efficiencies, improvements in governance, and financial gains. Perceived barriers included the introduction of new drug errors, loss of patient contact, initial time inefficiencies, and issues with the complexity of integration and standardisation of work processes. Overall, adequate technology, stakeholder involvement, and organisational leadership and support are required at a national and local level to drive the eHealth agenda forward. Testing at scale, contingency plans, and ongoing evaluations will assist in determining success or otherwise of system implementation. This research has generated novel findings with many potentially transferable themes identified which extend the evidence base. This will assist organisations to better plan for implementation of medication-related eHealth systems.

Objective: The concept of recovery has become an integral part of modern mental health care. Understanding the outcomes and underlying mechanisms of key recovery interventions, such as Wellness Recovery Action Planning (WRAP), is essential in order to expand the theoretical understanding of recovery and inform how to target recovery in treatment. Therefore a systematic review of the literature was conducted to evaluate the mental health outcomes of WRAP for adults. The empirical study then explored three constructs in relation to WRAP and recovery. These were social problem solving, cognitive defusion and social identification. Method: The systematic review of the mental health outcomes of WRAP was conducted by searching four databases, contacting the authors of WRAP research and seeking evaluative information from organisations that deliver WRAP. Fourteen relevant studies met the inclusion criteria. Whereas, the empirical study recruited participants on a trans-diagnostic basis from across Scotland. Using a quantitative cross sectional design, 109 participant's completed 5 self-report questionnaires. These were the Knowledge, Attitudes and Beliefs about WRAP Questionnaire (WRAP beliefs), the Recovery Assessment Scale - Short (RAS-S), the Social Problem Solving Inventory - Revised - Short (SPSI-R-S), the Four Item Measure of Social Identification (FISI) and the Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ). Correlation, regression and mediation analysis were used to explore relationships, and in particular, the predictors and mediators of recovery. Results: The systematic review provided strong evidence that WRAP has a significant positive impact on hope and also reduces the symptoms of mental illness. However, whether WRAP improves personal levels of recovery was unclear and a possible risk of disempowerment was found. Promising preliminary mental health outcomes in the areas of confidence in managing mental health, quality of life, service use, self-advocacy and knowledge attitudes and beliefs about recovery were highlighted. Only studies that did not use peer facilitators failed to find significant increases in hope compared to treatment as usual control groups. In the empirical study, the results indicated that all the constructs examined were correlated to recovery. In the regression analysis, WRAP beliefs, social problem solving and cognitive defusion also demonstrated a predictive relationship with recovery. Mediation analysis indicated that, social problem solving mediated two distinct relationships. One between WRAP beliefs and recovery, and another between cognitive defusion and recovery. The social problem solving subscales also showed how the two predictors relate to recovery through social problem solving in different ways. Social identification with the WRAP group did not significantly predict or mediate recovery. Conclusions: The systematic review indicated having peer facilitators delivering WRAP is key to helping participants foster hope and that a further randomised control trial could help clarify if improved personal recovery is an outcome of WRAP. It additionally suggested how the relationship between WRAP beliefs and recovery could be explored, as per the design of the empirical study. Findings from the empirical study implied that improving participants' social problem solving and cognitive defusion should be specifically targeted in WRAP delivery. The studies combined indicate that to achieve the best recovery results interventions, like WRAP, should target inspiring hope through peer support, improving knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about recovery and cognitive defusion from unhelpful thoughts.

Student conduct plays an integral role in the functioning of an institution and the moral development of students. As multiple models of student conduct exist, such as the Model Student Conduct Code or a Restorative Justice Approach, it is critical to have an understanding of the various structures and how to choose the most effective structure for addressing the diversifying needs of the campus community. Most college and university campuses use the Model Student Conduct Code (Dannells, 1997) which tends to place a heavy emphasis on authority and is more legalistic which creates an “adversarial environment” (Lowery & Dannells, 2004) on college and university campuses. It can be argued that the traditional student conduct code does not make space for individuals to engage in dialogue and for learning to take place. The focus of this dissertation is to understand the experiences of facilitators as they develop, implement, and use restorative justice models on college and university campuses, which provide a guiding framework for dialogue between victims/harmed parties and offenders/respondents and may be better suited as a means of managing bias and hate-motivated incidents. Restorative practices have been implemented in criminal justice, and K-12 environments and are seen by some as an antidote to overly legalistic campus conduct processes (Karp, 2004). This phenomenological research explores the experiences of individuals who have facilitated a campus-based restorative process and how that experience may impact their view of and the opportunities to improve campus climate through the lens of Critical Race Theory and Models of Moral development. Through this study, conduct and other campus administrators can gain valuable information on how restorative processes are developed, how facilitators gained and maintained institutional support, and how successful facilitators find the process in meeting their goals of student learning. Campus administrators will also gain insight on the perceived effectiveness of restorative practices as a tool for managing incidents of bias and the perception of the campus climate.

Bakgrund: Allt fler människor drabbas av den kroniska sjukdomen diabetes typ 2. Att leva med sjukdomen upplevs olika, av vissa som en naturlig del av livet, av andra som något patologiskt. Delaktighet och egenvård har nära samband för att patienten ska kunna anpassa sig till den nya situationen. För att kunna stötta patienterna och motivera till god egenvård är det också viktigt för hälso- och sjukvården att ha kunskap om patienters upplevelser av egenvård. Syfte: Syftet var att utifrån ett patientperspektiv beskriva upplevelser av främjande respektive hindrande faktorer i egenvården hos patienter med diabetes typ 2. Metod: En litteraturstudie genomfördes baserad på tio kvalitativa artiklar insamlade från databaserna Cinahl och PubMed. Artiklarna analyserades genom att identifiera gemensamma nämnare i artiklarnas resultat och därefter skapades teman. Resultat: Tre huvudteman med tillhörande subteman identifierades. I huvudtemat Främjande och hindrande faktorer i mötet med andra beskrivs hur människor i patientens omgivning upplevs som främjande respektive hindrande för egenvården. Huvudtemat Främjande och hindrande faktorer i mötet med sig själv handlar om faktorer i relation till patienten själv och i det tredje huvudtemat, Främjande och hindrande faktorer i mötet med praktiska omständigheter, presenteras upplevelser av hur egenvården påverkas av praktiska faktorer. Diskussion: Resultatet visar sig gå i linje med tidigare forskning inom området. Centrala faktorer som visat sig påverka egenvården, såsom familj och vårdpersonal/vårdorganisation, diskuteras också utifrån hur de påverkar hälsan. I enlighet med andra studier visar resultatet även att vissa faktorer upplevs främjande/hindrande beroende på patienternas ursprung eller landet de bor i. / Background: The number of people living with diabetes type 2 increases. Perceptions of living with the disease differ; some sees it as a natural part of life whilst other sees it as pathological. Self-management and involvement in care are central for the patient’s opportunity adjusting to the new situation. Health care need knowledge about patients’ perceptions of self-management for being able to motivate them. Aim: The aim was to describe perceived facilitators and barriers to self-care by patients living with diabetes type 2. Method: A review was carried out, which included ten qualitative articles collected through the databases Cinahl and PubMed. The articles were analysed by identifying common denominators in the articles’ results. Themes were created. Results: Three head themes with associated subthemes were identified. Facilitators and barriers in the meeting with others focuses on how people in the patient’s environment are perceived as a facilitator and/or a barrier. Facilitators and barriers in the meeting with oneself, describes how the patient herself affects the self-management. In Facilitators and barriers in the meeting with practical circumstances, factors in relation to the patient’s practical environment are presented. Discussion: The result goes in line with previous research. Areas, which turned out to be central for the patients’ self-management, such as family and different aspects of health care, are also discussed in relation to health. Additionally, some perceived facilitators/barriers are in accordance to other studies shown to be more or less prominent depending on the patients’ origin or country they live in.