This D.Phil. thesis is an international comparative study looking at the development and implementation stages of policies tasked to reduce emissions from transport. The substance of policy is all too often the primary focus of research, leaving the settings in which these policies are developed and implemented relatively underexplored. Examining the relationships and interplay that exists between departments responsible for climate change and transport at the sub-national (state) level and those with their local and national counterparts, this research tries to unpick the organisational intricacies that may act as barriers to delivery. State governments have become a promising source of action to reduce emissions from other sectors for which they have legislative responsibility; however, the private road transport sector remains a challenge. This research examines the barriers preventing such progress and whether the lack of collaboration between departments and across levels of government are responsible in part for these challenges. Taking a specific policy intervention designed to reduce transport-related emissions from four case study governments (Bavaria, California, Scotland and South Australia) this research is about organisational structures of government and policy processes. The main hypothesis of the research is that conventional environmental/climate change- and transport-policymaking practices are incompatible – and that this incompatibility is hampered by organisational structures of government. Together these factors render implementation of policies to reduce the climate impact of transport difficult. The hypothesis is guided by four research themes – scale, scope, leadership and process. Each of these themes has a distinct yet important part to play in understanding and comparing the case study contexts, in terms of the cross-departmental and cross-level interactions occurring within each of the sub-national governments. Each of the subject case study governments have been chosen since they are self-determined ‘leaders’ on climate change. This research serves to highlight some of the governance issues that need to be overcome or removed for such positive political intent to be realised. It posits that without successfully linking frameworks and interested stakeholders in the process, tangible emissions reductions will be difficult to achieve. The main objective of the research is to investigate the frameworks, interplay and dynamics at the sub-national level of government across departments and between levels of government. The relationship and collaboration with industry is also examined as a supplementary consideration. The second objective is to look at how and whether climate change policy can be more closely integrated with transport policy and the barriers to this integration. This investigation is underpinned by cross-disciplinary governance theory, as well as notions from socio-political governance and applies the concept of institutional interplay in this context between levels of government. It develops the concept of sub-national governance which argues that relationships between levels are distinct and non-hierarchical in terms of policy development and implementation.

Rizvi and Lingard (2010) suggest that there have been shifts in the development and institutional implementation of education policies, as the values promoted by national systems of education are not just established by the policy actors within the nation state but forged through transnational and global entities. In current studies, there are a number of reductionist accounts of global effects on education policy which do not take account of historical context. Drawing on the policy sociology literature, this thesis empirically investigates the policy process at University College Dublin when it modularised its undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. It reviews how supranational processes (including European integration and the work of the OECD) and policy making affected UCD's institutional dynamics and policy production during this process. In documenting and analysing the production of this institutional education policy, evidence suggests that policy is shaped predominantly by local policy actors and global influences situated outside of the nation-state. To explore the influence of macro factors on this policy process, UCD provides an outward-focused case study into this policy process at a micro level. Insight into this process is evidenced by collecting data through textual analysis of policy documents and semi-structured interviewing of 23 key policy actors at UCD and other influential policy agencies. To investigate the ‘black box’ by which power is exerted in this policy process, Bourdieu’s theoretical tools are utilised. Bourdieu’s ‘conceptual triad’ is pervasive in the education policy literature, clarifying why some of these policy practices remain national and localised within the global policy field. The study evidences the effects of globalisation manifest in UCD’s modular policy which responded to both internally generated reform and agencies external to the state. The pursuit and implementation of this policy demonstrates the capacity of non-national political structures, e.g. the EUA, OECD, and Bologna Process, to shape not only national policy (Henry et al., 2001) but also institutional governance and policy. The manifestation of these structures also provide confirmation of governance without government (Rosenau, 1992). This study sustains the suggestion of a global policy field (Lingard, et al., 2005) and demonstrates a resultant reconstitution of the local education policy field.

Constructing Arctic Sovereignty: Rules, Policy and Governance 1494--‐201 is a meta-narrative of the development of state sovereignty in the Arctic. It investigates the evolution of the rules of the international system over the longue durée, in so far as they frame Arctic sovereignty. It examines in particular the increasing importance of the legal dimension of territory and the transitions that have occurred with the introduction of new rules used by states to establish sovereignty. The thesis analyses the policy of the United States, Canada and Russia as they pursue their national interests in the region with reference to (and at times in contravention of) international rules and codes, and it situates governance within the framework of the international system as a mechanism for states to pursue their interests in the Arctic beyond their sovereign borders. This thesis makes an original contribution to knowledge through its distinctive methodology and theoretical approach, as well as through its analysis of primary materials. Using the pillars of a constructivist research framework including rules and interests over the longue durée to develop a meta- narrative of Arctic sovereignty, it situates contemporary Arctic foreign policy and governance within the evolving framework of the international system, identifying imperialism as a common thread in the relationship between the Arctic states and Arctic territory. It concludes that the expansion of sovereignty over this new territory represents the continuation of imperialism within the international system by states, perpetuating an asymmetric relationship that allows states to absorb this territory for the purposes of resource exploitation in the pursuit of national interests with international cooperation maintaining the primacy of the Arctic states within the region.

In 2006, the Vermont School Board's Association launched a pilot implementation of Policy Governance® in four Vermont school districts. Policy Governance is a coherent governance model that requires boards to establish policy in four policy quadrants (Carver, 2006). Key features of Policy Governance include the clear delineation of roles and responsibilities between a board and its CEO and the articulation of Ends policies which describe the desired outcomes for the organization from a future-oriented perspective (Carver, 2006). These characteristics of Policy Governance are in many ways antithetical to traditional Vermont public school governance practices which are grounded in a long-standing tradition of local control (Cate, 2006). This study focused on the experiences of the four superintendents involved in the 2006 pilot implementation of Policy Governance in Vermont as they attempted to reconcile the coherence of Policy Governance with local school board practices. The purpose of the study was to understand the beliefs and perceptions of these superintendents about Policy Governance, and to understand to what extent Policy Governance implementation created ethical dilemmas for their leadership. A series of in-depth interviews was conducted with the superintendents, and data from the interviews were analyzed using a narrative inquiry approach. The findings of this study suggest superintendent beliefs and perceptions about Policy Governance can be categorized into three themes: responsibility, trust, and vision. Using a theoretical ethical framework based on the work of Starratt (2003, 2004), a further analysis of the findings suggested a series of ethical dilemmas were confronted by the superintendents when implementing Policy Governance. These dilemmas included: developing an organizational vision through ends policies which transfer control over vision from the superintendent to the school board, assisting school boards with engaging their communities in the development of ends policies while at the same time ensuring those ends meet the moral purposes of schooling in serving the needs of all students and the larger public good, enforcing a clear delineation of roles and responsibilities while also serving a school board in its work, and assuming responsibility for transforming school systems to meet the future needs of students while at the same time supporting the success of students and educators in the current organizational structures. This study concluded that Policy Governance can provide an intellectual and practical framework for educational leaders to engage in the necessary ethical action to ensure the success of public schooling in postmodern society.

Community college boards of trustees are faced with the awesome responsibility of governing complex systems and responding to conventional organizational challenges. One Texas board of trustees was faced with the inconceivable challenge of regaining the trust of its district and the community after questionable circumstances surrounding the resignation of the chancellor, indictments of two board members and the former chairman of the board, and other behavior that although not illegal, was unethical and morally corrupt. This study looks at the transformation of a community college board over a two-year period, from a state of organizational disarray to seeking community support for a $450 million bond package. The research chronicles the transition by comparing and contrasting the accounts of what transpired, with the principles of chaos theory, transformational leadership and the John Carver Policy Governance® Model. For an entity in organizational chaos, a commitment to transform is needed to ultimately reach the point where it can adopt governance principles to provide the foundation for effective leadership, such as those espoused by the Carver model. Change must occur and the success or failure of an organization or system depends on how effective the leadership is at identifying challenges and working with them to create opportunities. When an organization approaches chaos and the need for changes with trepidation, progress and success are improbable. It is the understanding that order emerges from chaos that leads to a renewed mindset; a mindset that looks beyond traditional structures and embraces flexibility, innovation and creativity. The resolve of the trustees to regain public trust and support has served as the impetus to implement the changes needed to govern the district effectively. / text

This treatise is a historical policy study, empirical in nature, evaluating how Texas community college governance boards' roles have changed over the last 4 decades. Texas was chosen because trustees are elected; as the second largest state in the nation, demographic shifts are rapidly changing and trustees represent a very different constituency from 40 years ago; and, Austin Community College District was the case study evaluated. Community college trustees are lay members of boards who oversee governance of 50 districts in Texas. The long time consensus has been that boards are "rubber stamps" of a CEO's directional design, and trustees have been historically White, wealthy, businessmen, who have little educational knowledge regarding community colleges or the students served. Success for community colleges in Texas, and funding, has always been based on enrollment, never before on student achievement or graduations. Research questions addressed how trustees roles have changed in 40 years and if student success initiatives had impacted those responsibilities. The answers are interesting. Trustees duties, as prescribed by the Texas Education Code have not changed at all, but trustees are spending more time in only a few of those duties on a regular basis. Demographic attributes have also changed very little in 40 years. Yet, trustees of the 21st century have become more attuned to the financial deficits that exist and will escalate if student success is not made a priority. Utilizing research from the Texas Education Code, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, The Texas Association of Community Colleges, the Community College Association of Texas Trustees, and researchers who have documented trustees' roles and responsibilities since the early 1970s, and including a case study that evaluated one college's minutes from board meetings over a 40 year span to determine how trustees utilize their time, this study shows that boards are evolving, but need additional and continual training. Because some trustees still micromanage, what results from this study as a benefit to society is a final guide that addresses the humanistic roles that trustees should have that intertwine with the legal duties defined by the State. / text

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In this thesis, a critical analysis is proposed of the relationships between Inuit participation, science and policy in wildlife governance in the Nunavut Territory, Canada. This analysis situates the emergence of a participatory regime for the governance of wildlife in Nunavut, explores its performance and examines the relations between the ways in which wildlife governance arrangements are currently represented in policy and how they are played out in practice across the territory. To pursue these objectives, this research draws upon a number of theoretical perspectives and methodological strategies poised at a crossroads between environmental geography, science and technology studies, political ecology and ecological anthropology. It combines participant observation, semi-directed interviews and literature-based searches with approaches to the study of actor-networks, hybrid forums and scientific practices associated with Latour and Callon, as well as with Foucauldian and post-Foucauldian analyses of power, governmentality and subjectivity. This analysis suggests that the overall rationale within which wildlife governance operates in Nunavut remains largely based on a scientific and bureaucratic framework of resource management that poses significant barriers to the meaningful inclusion of Inuit views. In spite of their participation in wildlife governance through a range of institutional arrangements, consultation practices and research initiatives, the Inuit of Nunavut remain critical of the power relations embedded within existing schemes, where significant decision-making authority remains under the control of the territorial (or federal) government, and where asymmetries persist with regard to the capacity of various actors to produce and mediate their claims. In addition, while the use of Inuit knowledge, or Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit, in wildlife governance in Nunavut has produced some collaborative research and management endeavours, it has also crystallised a divide between ‘Inuit’ and ‘scientific’ knowledge, generated unresolved conflicts, fuelled mistrust among wildlife co-management partners and led to an overall limited inclusion of Inuit observations, values and beliefs in decision-making.

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Food waste in agricultural production is a key topic in sustainability studies. The goal of this study was to look at the structural elements that contribute to food waste of fruits and vegetables and provide solutions to solve the multifaceted problem based on what the role of distributors is in that matter. The study was founded on the philosophy of sustainability and justice, and it used a qualitative technique that included interviews with farmers and stakeholders from France. The findings indicate that economic profitability, environmental effect, social fairness, and policy governance are all interrelated causes of food waste in agricultural supply chains. Organizations may utilize these insights to create strategies for minimizing food waste, encouraging responsible consumption, production, and valorization, and creating more fair and sustainable agricultural systems.