Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1998. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 171-182). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Zugl.: Aachen, RWTH, Diss., 2008.

Texte remanié de: Th. doct.--Droit public--Aix-Marseille, 1992. / En appendice, choix de documents. Bibliogr. p. 559-573. Index.

This thesis explores the implementation of an area-based health improvement initiative in the north west of England called Target Wellbeing. In the decades before Target Wellbeing was commissioned in 2007, health inequalities between people living in different areas of the UK had been widening. ABIs were identified by the Labour Government as a key tool for improving the health and wellbeing of residents in areas of socio-economic disadvantage and addressing inequalities in health. ABIs such as this have been well evaluated but there remains no firm evidence about the ability of such initiatives to improve health or to reduce health inequalities. In addition to the problems associated with evaluation, the processes through which ABIs might be used to influence change are not well understood and the value of using area-based services to improve health has been taken for granted. There is little understanding about the processes through which service provider partnerships might develop and limited knowledge about the processes through which residents might develop relations with providers. The key aim of this research was to examine the social processes through which ABIs develop over time. Using a case study approach, the research examined one Target Wellbeing programme as a social figuration of interdependent people. Ethnographic methods, including documentary analysis, non-participant observation and interviews, were used to explore the processes and networks that mediated the planned public health development. The study also drew on relevant quantitative data to describe changes over time. Ideas from figurational sociology were used as sensitising concepts in the development of a substantive theory about the processes through which ABIs develop. The study developed theoretical insight into processes of joint working that helps to explain why, in the context in which services are commissioned and performance managed, provider co-ordination is unlikely to be implemented as planned. It also provided a more sociologically adequate account of the ways in which relations between residents and providers were influenced by the history of relations in the town. Changes to residents’ relations with other residents and providers in the town influenced a greater sense of control over their circumstances. These findings demonstrate that, in relation to public health policy and practice, ABIs might more usefully be conceptualised as a series of interrelated processes that might be used to establish the preconditions for influencing change among residents. However, the study showed that interventions targeted at a small part of much wider networks of interconnected people are unlikely to influence sustained changes for residents in deprived areas.

This study examined the impact of the Whole Schools Initiative arts program on the academic achievement of a group of middle school students as measured by the Mississippi Curriculum Test 2 (MCT2) language arts and mathematics assessment. School year 2012-2013 yearly assessment scores for sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students in 1 middle school in the State of Mississippi were analyzed to determine if a statistically significant difference in academic achievement existed between those who participated in the arts program in elementary school and those who did not. This study was guided by 4 research questions and employed 2 research designs. Correlational research was used to answer research question 1. Question 1 sought to determine the relationships between MCT2 scores of middle school students and the number of years they attended an arts integration school. Questions 2 through 4 was answered using causal comparative research design to determine the differences in MCT2 scores of sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students who attended an elementary school with an arts program and those who did not. The findings of this study indicated that there was a relationship between MCT2 math scores but no relationship between language arts MCT2 scores and attendance in an arts integrated school. In addition, it was determined that there were no significant differences in sixth grade language arts and sixth and seventh grade math achievement scores of students who attended an elementary school with an arts integration program. However, there were significant differences in seventh and eighth grade language arts and eighth grade math scores of students who attended arts integrated elementary. The study concludes with recommendations for future research.

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Yes / This report on Sierra Leone is one of 13 case studies (all of the case studies are available at www.bradford.ac.uk/cics). This research draws upon secondary data sources including existing research studies, reports and evaluations commissioned by operational agencies, and early warning and survey data where this has been available. These secondary sources have been complemented by primary research interviews with government officers, aid policymakers and practitioners, researchers and members of the local population. The author would like to thank Tunde Zack-Williams for comments made on an earlier draft. The analysis and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views or policy of DFID or the UK government. 1

Yes / This report on Somalia is one of 13 case studies. This research draws upon secondary data sources including existing research studies, reports and evaluations commissioned by operational agencies, and early warning and survey data where this has been available. These secondary sources have been complemented by interviews with government officers, aid policymakers and practitioners, researchers and members of the local population. This work was carried out in Nairobi in February and September 2004. The author would like to thank the many Somali, international NGOs, UN and donor bodies based there. The report has also benefited greatly from inputs from Dr June Rock. The author would also like to thank Mark Bradbury and Reg Green for comments on an earlier draft; however, they are not responsible for any shortcomings in this final version. The analysis and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views or policy of DFID or the UK government.

Yes / This report on Southern Sudan is one of 13 case studies (all of which can be found at www.bradford.ac.uk/cics). This research draws upon secondary data sources, including existing research studies, reports and evaluations commissioned by operational agencies, and early warning and survey data where this has been available. These secondary sources have been complemented by interviews with government officers, aid policymakers and practitioners, researchers and members of the local population. The analysis and opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or policy of DFID or the UK government.