This thesis seeks to analyse the policy making and policy implementation processes of elite sport in China and the UK, covering the period 1992-2012. Three sports are selected for detailed cases studies: artistic gymnastics, swimming and cycling. They represent a wide range of sports in two countries, based on their varying competiveness, weights and traditions. Key areas including organisational structure, financial support, talent identification and athlete development, coaching, training, competition opportunities, scientific research and others (including international influence and other sport- and country-specific areas) are identified to organise the discussion. The aim is not only to present key characteristics of the development of each sport in China and the UK respectively and to introduce the successful experience and problems but also to form a basis for the discussion of policy making, policy implementation and policy changes.

Orientador: Luiz Henrique Antunes Rodrigues / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Agricola / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-13T20:39:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AndradeFilho_ValdirBarreto_M.pdf: 1448479 bytes, checksum: 5a7006a16f49c5cbbe9b8692fcdd2f3a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: A necessidade de eficiência e eficácia, motivada pelo ambiente competitivo, pelas exigências de mercado e pela escassez de recursos, torna a disciplina de Gerência de Projetos cada vez mais importante para as Organizações. Saber, portanto, como o Gerenciamento dos Projetos é desempenhado torna-se um conhecimento importante para que estas entendam suas forças e fraquezas e a partir daí possam definir como evoluir. Modelos de Maturidade em Gerenciamento de Projetos são ferramentas para se obter este conhecimento e, particularmente, o "Organizational Project Management Maturity Model" (OPM3), pela sua abrangência e por ter sido criado pelo organismo internacional mais conceituado atualmente nesta área, o "Project Management Institute" (PMI), se afigura como um importante modelo para se aferir o "status" da Organização em relação a seus processos de Gerenciamento de Projetos. Dada a importância do Agronegócio no país e do papel desempenhado pelas Instituições de Pesquisa do Agronegócio do Estado de S. Paulo, pelo seu volume de Projetos e por sua importância no cenário nacional torna-se importante a determinação de como estas Instituições se posicionam em termos de Maturidade no Gerenciamento de seus Projetos. Tomando como hipóteses que o grau de maturidade das Instituições de Pesquisa do Agronegócio do Estado de S. Paulo é semelhante ao da maioria das organizações do País e de que as Instituições em estágio mais avançado compartilham de práticas comuns, este trabalho tem como objetivo apresentar a Maturidade em Gerenciamento de Projetos de um conjunto destas Instituições, bem como o desenvolvimento de um modelo de apoio à decisão que oriente estas Instituições na definição de sua evolução em Maturidade. Para realizá-lo, aplicou-se as técnicas preconizadas pelo modelo OPM3 - questionários e "software" específico - a um conjunto de pesquisadores de diversas Instituições, adaptando-as ao contexto específico de apenas se investigar Projetos, não considerando Programas ou Portfólios. Os resultados indicam a confirmação das Hipóteses, apresentando-se, inclusive, as Melhores Práticas comuns às Instituições em estágio maior de evolução. O modelo proposto de apoio à decisão, baseado no método "Analytic Hierarchy Process" (AHP), apresenta uma hierarquia de um único nível englobando os Domínios, os Estágios, os Grupos de Processos e as Áreas de Conhecimento. À hierarquia é adicionada uma estrutura desenvolvida originalmente neste trabalho (Matriz de Pertinência) para que a prioridade das ações de evolução seja definida O modelo mostra-se factível do ponto de vista prático e abrange todos os domínios do Gerenciamento de Projetos Organizacional. Palavras-chave: Processo de Análise Hierárquica (AHP); Modelo de Maturidade do Gerenciamento de Projetos Organizacional (OPM3); Melhor Prática; Instituto de Gerenciamento de Projetos (PMI) / Abstract: The necessity of efficiency and effectiveness, motivated by the current competitive environment, market needs and lack of resources, brought Project Management to a top position inside Organizations. To know how Project Management is performed becomes a very important knowledge for these organizations in order to learn their strengths and weaknesses. With this knowledge they will be able to define how to evolve in this aspect. Project Management Maturity Models are tools to obtain this knowledge. The Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3), by its comprehensiveness e due the fact that it was developed by the most considered international institution in this subject, the Project Management Institute (PMI), may be considered as an important model to measure the Organization "status" related to its Project Management processes. Taking into account the Agribusiness relevance in Brazil and the role performed by Agribusiness Research Institutes in São Paulo State, by their Project numbers and by their relevance in Brazil's research environment, it becomes very relevant to know how these Institutions are positioned concerning about Project Management Maturity in their Projects. Taking as hypothesis that the Agribusiness Research Institutes in São Paulo State maturity level is similar to the most country's Organizations and that Institutions in a more evolved level share a common Best Practices nucleous, this work aims to show the Project Management Maturity of some of these Institutions and, also, the development of a decision support model that help them to define their evolution path. In order to do it, OPM3 techniques were applied - a questionnaire and OPM3 specific software - to a selected researchers group from some Institutions, adapting them to the Project Management specific context and leaving outside Programs and Portfolios. The results confirm both Hypothesis, and the Best Practices nucleous is showed. The decision support model proposed, based in the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), shows an one level hierarchy including the Domains, the Stages, the Processes Groups and the Knowledge Areas. One originally developed structure is added to the hierarchy (Pertinency Matrix) to allow the evolution actions prioritization. The model is feasible to pratical use and includes all of the Organizational Project Management domains. Keywords: Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP); Organizational Project Management Maturity Model (OPM3); Best Practice; Project Management Institute (PMI) / Mestrado / Planejamento e Desenvolvimento Rural Sustentável / Mestre em Engenharia Agrícola

Research into the European Union (EU) increasingly focuses on the policy-making processes which take place within the EU, as distinct from trying to explain or predict the broad phenomenon of European integration. This thesis adopts a similar focus on EU policy-making. Policy-making in the EU is examined using a policy network approach. The main aim of the thesis is to assess how useful the policy network approach is as a means of explaining EU policy processes and policy outputs. The policy network approach is therefore applied not simply as a mechanism for describing patterns of interest intermediation but, rather, as a tool for explaining a new form of network governance in the EU. The thesis therefore aims to test the claims of the policy network literature that it can better account for policy-making in the EU than can more traditional approaches derived either from international relations (IR) or comparative politics (CP). The thesis applies a policy network approach to the study of EU environmental policy-making. Three case studies - on air quality, landfill and drinking water legislation - are examined, in order to assess whether a policy network approach can help explain the development of EU policy in these areas. Overall the thesis finds a useful role for policy network analysis in helping to explain EU policymaking and policy outputs. At the same time, however, the thesis confirms the limitations of the policy network approach at EU-level. Policy network analysis must therefore be combined with both IR and CP approaches in order to gain a fuller understanding of how EU policy is made.

Evaluations have gained popularity for improving public policy measures, programmes and institutions in the field of science, technology and innovation (RTI). Though the frequency and quality of evaluations have increased, in terms of impact indicators and methodological diversification, concerns have been raised about their effectiveness to fuel change in policy making. This raises the issue of the low absorption level of evaluation findings by policy making in general and in Austria in particular. Recent research emphasises the need for a holistic perspective on the benefits and usefulness of evaluations in order to allow a more thorough consideration of complex interdependencies and effects that can occur at different levels and in different forms. While previous research has put much emphasis on the conduct of evaluations and their implementation, there are less empirical studies that address institutional or contextual explanations when it comes to the effects of evaluations. This study aims to contribute to the narrowing of this gap in the literature by investigating how individual and composite actors (such as organisations), as well as, the policy itself are affected by policy evaluations, drawing attention to the factors and mechanisms that shape evaluation effects. Making use of the concepts of "policy learning", actor-centred institutionalism and recent research in the field of evaluation utilisation for the analysis, this study developed a conceptual framework that proposes three groups of conditioning factors and mechanisms: Actors and their interactions, the institutional context, and the evaluation itself. A multiple case study approach, using evaluated programmes in the Austrian research, technology and innovation (RTI) policy scene, was employed to examine the effects of evaluations at various levels, the conditioning factors and mechanisms, as well as, the ensuing pathways of effects. Results indicate that evaluations generate a wide range of diverse effects, beyond individual learning, and clearly and visibly impact programme development. Several contextual aspects shape evaluation effects. The current structures and practices endorse evaluations as routine, which may reduce chances of broader learning, and distance the evaluation and the possibility to learn from it from an interested audience. The thesis concludes with implications for theory and practice, and suggestions for paths of future research.

This thesis focuses on the research of RTDI policies (research, technology, development and innovation), and the main theme of this thesis is to link the three variables together: RTDI policy-making process, the contents of RTDI policies, the appropriateness of RTDI policies on configuration of the national, the sectoral and the technological innovation systems. We assume the policy-making process of RTDI policies would shape the contents of the RTDI policies. Once the contents of RTDI policies are implemented, the RTDI policies would influence, whether appropriate or inappropriate, on configuration of the three innovation systems. We define the configuration of the three innovation systems as national, sectoral and technological innovation system (NSTIS). We use the Taiwanese biotechnology and related sectoral policies as the empirical examples. Biotechnology in Taiwan configures with three sectors, i.e. pharmaceuticals, agriculture and medical device. Between 2000 and 2008, the Taiwanese government intensively promoted many policies in order to support the development of biotechnology and related sectors. Among the various policies, we choose the National Science and Technology Programs and the regulation policies (in terms of Law of Pharmaceutical Affairs and the Agro-pesticides Management Act) as our two empirical cases and set up the in-depth discussion for the policy-making process of the two policies.On the basis of the empirical cases of Taiwan, we explore the influence of the RTDI policy-making process on the contents of RTDI policies which further shapes the development of the NSTIS.

Please read the abstract in the 00front part of this document / Thesis (DCom (Economics))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Economics / unrestricted

The two decades preceding the global financial crisis of 2008 saw an increase in international migration flows. This development was accompanied by the relaxation of immigration entry controls for select categories of foreign workers across the developed world. The scale of labour immigration, and the categories of foreign workers granted entry, varied considerably across states. To some extent, these developments transcended the traditional classifications of comparative immigration politics. This thesis examines the reform process in two states with contrasting policy legacies that adopted liberal labour immigration selection and control policies during the abovementioned period. The instrumental role that immigration has played in the process of nation-building in Australia has led it to be classified as a 'traditional destination state' with a positive immigration policy legacy. By contrast, immigration has not been significant in the formation of national identity in the United Kingdom. It has a more negative immigration policy legacy and is generally regarded as a 'reluctant state'. Examining the reasons for liberal shifts in labour immigration policy in two states with different immigration politics allows insights to be gained into the processes of policy-making and the dynamics that underpin it. In Australia, labour immigration controls were relaxed incrementally and through a deliberative process. Reform was justified on the grounds that it fulfilled economic needs and objectives, and was consistent with an accepted definition of the national interest. In the UK, liberal shifts in labour immigration policy were the incidental consequence of the pursuit of objectives in other policy areas. Reform was implemented unilaterally, and in an uncoordinated manner characterised by an absence of consultation. The contrast in the manner in which reform was managed by the various actors, institutions and stakeholders involved in the process both reflected, and served to reinforce, the immigration policy legacies of the two states. Moreover, the Howard government used Australia's positive legacy to construct a coherent narrative to justify the implementation of liberal reform. This generated greater immediate and lasting support for its reforms among stakeholders and the broader community. By contrast, lacking a similarly positive legacy, the Blair government in the UK found it difficult to create such a narrative, which contributed to the unpopularity of its reforms. This thesis therefore argues that policy legacies had a significant impact on the processes and dynamics that shaped labour immigration selection and control decisions during the recent wave of international migration. The cases demonstrate that a nation's past immigration policy experiences shape its policy-making structures, as well as institutional and stakeholder policy preferences, which are core constituent components of a nation's immigration politics. The UK case shows that even when reluctant states implement liberal labour immigration policies, these characteristics tend to create feedback effects that make it difficult for reform to be durable. The relationship between immigration policy and politics thus becomes self-reinforcing. But this does not necessarily mean that states' immigration politics are rigid, since the institutions that help to make a nation's immigration policy and shape its politics will inevitably undergo a process of adaptation in response to changing contexts.

In 2007 the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) was reformed by the introduction of the so-called trio Presidency . The trio mechanism encourages policy continuity by grouping incumbent Presidencies in teams of three and inviting them to coordinate. This thesis seeks to contribute original knowledge on EU policy-making by mapping how trio practices are established, exploring which factors explain how Member States coordinate, and by assessing how the trio arrangement affects the EU agenda. Empirically, the trio function is examined through its implementation in the policy area of sport, focusing on the three trios to assume office after the coming into force of the Lisbon Treaty in 2009. The analysis is structured around a number of carefully selected dossiers adopted between 2010 and 2013. Guided by a conceptual framework based on agenda-setting and new institutionalism, these decisions are submitted to in depth process-tracing. The analysis draws on qualitative research, primarily official documents and 37 semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal that actors approach the trio with differing preferences and expectations, leading to much variation in how the arrangement is performed. The thesis identifies a number of factors that explain variation. Thus, a fixed agenda supports trios in coordinating priorities and activities ex ante. Moreover, coordination is conditioned by trio composition, as federal and new Member States are more inclined to cooperate. Further, trio practices are shaped by factors such as multiannual planning and focusing events, with the intenseness of trio coordination reflecting whether the agenda includes issues that demand sustained attention. The thesis concludes that the introduction of the trio mechanism has preserved the ability of Member States to use the Council Presidency to prioritise national priorities whilst also encouraging and facilitating EU policy continuity. By extending agenda-management beyond a six month spell, the trio can strengthen the agenda-setting powers of incumbent Member States, particularly on issues that concern establishing urgent responses or developing Council procedures. Moreover, evidence suggests that the arrangement can produce a specific spirit of collegiality, trio solidarity, which sees trio Member States support each other during negotiations, thus affecting EU policy-making beyond agenda-management.

This thesis deals with the period of nearly ten years of the first governance period of Juan Domingo Perón. In this era were established bases of peronist movement, whose legacy is presented in Argentine politics till these days. This period represents a fundamental turning point in Argentine history, both from the politic and socio-economic points of view. The thesis is divided into four major chapters. The first one outlines the status of Argentine society and the economy in the context of the international situation before Perón became Argentine president. Another three chapters deal directly with the period of Perón's government. The first one deals with three fundaments of peronist economic policy of initial period, which included economic nationalism and etatism, industrialization and especially massive redistribution policy. The second chapter analyses the socio-economic aspects of peronist constitutional reform of 1949, economic development at the end of Perón's first presidency and development in the agricultural sector during his first presidency. Final chapter examines changes in economic policy during the second Perón's presidency and causes of his deposition.

The term “evidence-based” is ubiquitous in practice and policy-making settings around the world; it is de rigueur to claim this approach. This dissertation is an inquiry into the work of evidence-based policy-making with a particular focus on the social practices of policy work/ers involved with developing policies relating to chronic disease at the Ministry of Health in British Columbia (B.C.), Canada. I begin with an examination of tensions in the policy-making literature germane to the relationship between knowledge, its production, and policy-making: the environment into which evidence-based policy-making emerged in the 1990s. Drawing on the theorising of knowledge, discourse, and power – particularly from Foucault’s work – for the analytic approach, I present the commitment to claims of “evidence-based” practices found in key government policy framework documents and policy workers’ accounts of their practices, gathered through interviews. I then show the unravelling of this commitment in those accounts. This research reveals how the policy frameworks construct chronic disease as a financial burden on the health care system and direct policy workers to develop policies with this construction in mind. The discourses associated with evidence-based policy-making narrow how policy workers can think about evidence and its production to positivist, scientific methods and numerical measures that will provide proof of cost cutting. Proponents of evidence-based policy-making laud it as keeping politics and ideology out of the policy-making process. However, the policy workers I interviewed reveal the power relations organising their deeply political work environment. Furthermore, the minutiae constituting policy-making practices produce a “managerialist approach to governance” (Edwards, Gillies, and Horsley, 2015, p. 1) in which people with chronic disease are noticeable by their near-absence. When they do appear, they are responsibilised to decrease the burden on the health/care system and the economy. I argue that as a governing project with an appearance of failure, given the many cracks in the commitment to the claim and the practices of being evidence-based, the discourse of evidence-based policy-making is actually quite successful. It has continuous effects: people are separated (so-called apolitical policy workers into imagined neutral space and decision-makers into political space), knowledge is divided, costs and responsibilities are downloaded to individuals, and evidence-based discourses appear in countless settings. The governing works. / Graduate