Thesis (doctoral)--Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [353]-387) and index. Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S. in Joint Campaign Planning and Strategy)--Joint Forces Staff College, Joint Advanced Warfighting School, 2006. / "31 May 2006." Electronic version of original print document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-77).

The sea state changes that have occurred in the global security arena since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the demise of the Soviet Union dramatically transformed the U.S. interagency national security process. More recently, the tragic events of 9-11 have further refocused national security endeavors inward to homeland security imperatives while Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom have revalidated the need effective interagency coordination. This research represents a "first cut" at characterizing the construct of unity of effort in the interagency national security process by identifying attributes of this organizational virtue. The intent was to examine the dimensionality of the construct and thus facilitate theory building by consolidating extant knowledge and identifying key success factors as well as elements threatening operational success. This study focused on the interagency national security policy process and was intended to accommodate a wider understanding of unity of effort as it applies to that area of endeavor. Multiple interviews, focus groups, and surveys from 448 military and civilian adult respondents were used in the analysis. Content analysis, analysis of variance, and principle component analysis were the primary analytic methods used. The most conceptually sound factor structure for organizational unity of effort consisted of four factors: (a) Organizational Context and Interpersonal Dynamics, (b) Leadership and Decision Making Structure, (c) Strategic Orientation, and (d) Organizational Infrastructure and Resources. The detailed examination of this construct produced clearly acceptable internal reliability coefficients on all scales and relatively strong evidence of construct validity in the related factor analyses. Separate internal factor structures were investigated for two test groups drawn from the sample population. Although there was not perfect fidelity in the two derived factor structures, sufficient internal structures emerged that strongly validated the underlying factor structure for organizational unity of effort. This factor structure remained relatively stable when examined for selected demographic sub-groups drawn from the larger sample. The clear relationships of this factor construct revealed strong empirical support for a theoretical basis for the construct of organizational unity of effort. Moreover, the results of this study offer the potential for development of a simple and valid conceptualization of organizational unity of effort. It is hoped that this research serves to advance a conceptual framework that helps the interagency national security community evaluate unity of effort in the national security policy process and create new or reconfigure existing organizational entities in response to threats to U.S. national security. / Ph. D.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisor: Biliana Cicin-Sain, College of Marine and Earth Studies. Includes bibliographical references.

This thesis is concerned with communication in interprofessional practice, an issue which is identified as a ‘difficulty’ but ‘essential’ in the literature. The research is based on a case study focusing on the communication between professionals in a series of planning meetings held to support the transition of a child with additional support needs from playgroup into the nursery class of a primary school in Scotland. The study explores the dynamics and complexities of communication through the theoretical frameworks of ethnography of communication and Dewey’s concept of communication as participative action. This joint analysis illustrates the way in which the group worked together to make something in common and the extent of commonality that was needed for them to work actively together. The findings show the interprofessional group functioning as a speech community with a bounding feature of working with the child. The soft-shell of this community illustrates a flexibility of practice and the ability of the group to expand or contract to meet the needs of the child and family. The way in which the participants worked together to agree the outcomes they were working towards is an illustration of Deweyan communication, making something in common between them. This process included the recognition of the competence and responsibility of individual professions. The study demonstrates that the doctors who were members of the interprofessional group were recognised as holding more power than the other members of the group and were bound by the outcomes and procedures of their own profession. This difference affected the dynamics of communication within the interprofessional team. The findings add to our understanding of the complexities of communication in an interprofessional team and show that communication in a Deweyan sense can strengthen the work of an interprofessional group and develop their support for the child or family they are working with.

Currently responsible for policing over one million citizens, the Calgary Police Service (CPS) has earned its reputation as a progressive law enforcement organization in part by focusing on the early recognition and acknowledgement of evolving crime trends. To maintain essential public trust CPS remains attuned to the constant shifting of legal and moral public accountability, an issue highlighted by judicial inquiries that have illustrated a consistent lack of police interagency cooperation. Since police are restricted by geographic jurisdictional boundaries, the answer to inter-jurisdictional challenges appears to be the timely sharing of intelligence, something the CPS has proposed through its newly developed Real Time Operations Centre (RTOC). This study investigated the question of how CPS might best develop an Alberta law-enforcement collaborative based upon the paradigm of a central real-time operations centre (RTOC), feasibility of this model, and potential challenges to its implementation. This study conducted qualitative action research with the leaders of all major law enforcement organizations in the Province of Alberta. Research data generated by one-on-one interviews with each participant was thematically analyzed to produce knowledge sufficient to plant the seeds of change for both organizational transformation and future inquiry. Study findings suggest it will be incumbent upon police leaders to create and develop the organizational social awareness necessary to enhance and leverage social capital essential to inter-agency cooperation and collaboration. Identifying positive aspects of a strong organizational culture will create a culture of well-being able to address crucial communication issues and the critical alignment of resources.

This thesis is a case study of coordination policies and practices in child protection services. The study is an exploratory, descriptive account of the processes and outputs of interagency coordination rather than a hypothesis-testing study or an evaluation of the outcomes of coordination. It is based on empirical research undertaken in two research sites in the north of England. The principal data sources used in the research were: an analysis of the social services departmental case records relating to a sample of 48 children on child protection registers for physical or sexual abuse; interviews with 90 professionals (social workers, teachers, community nurses, police officers, doctors and others), drawn from a sub-sample of the 48 cases; a questionnaire issued to those interviewed and selected others, completed by 81 respondents; and analysis of central government guidance, local interagency procedures and other documents. In Chapter One of the thesis, selected topics in the literature on interagency coordination and the policy background to the study are reviewed. The research methods used and the characteristics of the case sample and the interview and questionnaire respondents are presented in Chapter Two. The principal research findings are presented in Chapters Three to Eleven covering three main topics: i) interagency coordination in the key phases of a case career (namely referral, initial investigation, medical assessment, case conferences, child protection plans and intervention, monitoring and review) ii) an examination of local interagency procedures and the role of Area Child Protection Committees and iii) the perceptions and experiences of respondents concerning interagency work. The thesis concludes that there is a high degree of routinised coordination with a relatively clear division of labour in child protection services; that coordination involves principally the exchange of information, arranging for the sequential and separate performance of key tasks and some limited shared decision-making but that there is little joint hands-on collaboration; that interagency activity peaks in the early phases of the construction of a case and diminishes thereafter; that the implementation of policy guidance may be seen as relatively successful and that there is some support for the idea that interagency coordination strategies tend towards conservatism.

Thesis (M.S. in Defense Analysis)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2010. / Thesis Advisor(s): Jansen, Erik ; Second Reader: Giordano, Frank. "June 2010." Description based on title screen as viewed on July 15, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: Police expeditionary capacities; counterinsurgency; gendarmeries; paramilitary organizations; executive policing; population centric operations; mathematical modeling; game theory; interagency cooperation; stabilization and reconstruction operations; irregular warfare; security force assistance. Includes bibliographical references (p. 57-58). Also available in print.

The aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the United States resulted in the introduction of the National Fusion Center Network. This effort seeks to empower National Security by effectively sharing information between various law enforcement organizations. Since the establishment of the Network, information that addresses the Networks' standard operating procedures and existing barriers to share information effectively has been lacking. This caused many criticisms as to whether the network is in fact effective in fulfilling its mandate to effectively share information between the various law enforcement agencies. Utilizing Bandura's cognitive theory of behavioral change, this phenomenological study identifies the strategies utilized by the Fusion center Network to share information while addressing the barriers that arise during the process. Qualitative data consists of interviews conducted with a purposive sample of N=8 employees at two Fusion Centers in the Network. Data were inductively coded, analyzed, and summarized to answer the research questions and illustrate relevance to the framework. Findings made it clear that staff respondents believe that the Fusion Center Network has a tangible impact on Information Sharing between law enforcement, government, and non-government agencies. This expanded the field of knowledge regarding the Fusion Center Network and made room for future researchers to expound on. Recommendations offered by this study are geared towards assisting policy makers, partner organizations and the public at large to make better decisions toward protecting the Homeland from future acts of terror. This study carries implications for creating positive social change by providing recommendations to assist legislators develop effective policies and to increase national security measures of the United States.

No description available.