There is growing evidence of the important role that family members play in the support and recovery of individuals diagnosed with a serious mental illness. The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) Provider Education Program (PEP) trains providers of mental health services to work collaboratively with families in the treatment of individuals with a mental illness. This study examines the effect of the NAMI-PEP on Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) provider representations of and services provided to families at Frontenac Community Mental Health Services. Qualitative and quantitative methods of research are combined to explore ACT provider beliefs about, feelings toward and services provided to families before and after participating the NAMI-PEP. Findings suggest that the NAMI-PEP is effective in initiating changes in provider representations of family at a cognitive level. Changes in provider views are detected indicating movement toward a strengths-based orientation and an improved understanding of the components of collaborative practice with families. Analysis of changes to ACT practice patterns illuminates the challenges of implementing cultural change at an organizational level and identifies a fertile area for further research.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 339-342) Also available in print.

Thesis (M. Ed.) -- University of Alberta, 2010. / "A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in Theoretical, Cultural and International Studies in Education, Educational Policy Studies, University of Alberta." Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on May 14, 2010) Includes bibliographical references.

The new philanthropy is increasingly seen as a panacea and an alternative source of global development finance for rural development, especially in developing countries. The theoretical underpinning of the new philanthropy entails the idea that the private sector, led by philanthropists and civil society organisations in social policy issues can lead to more effective outcomes through partnership. The existing literature on the new philanthropy mainly focuses on its economic or commercial impact. This is particularly the case in the rural parts of Ghana; there has been very little research on the new philanthropy’s impact on the livelihoods of the poorest segments of society. Therefore, this research investigates the impact of new philanthropy on the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana in order to fill the gap. The study employed ethnographic research, utilising qualitative techniques involving 20 stakeholders in philanthropy and livelihood affairs and 100 smallholder farmers. The research findings suggest that there is a significant relationship between philanthropic sponsored interventions in Ghana and an increase in smallholder farmers’ yields. The few farmers who purchased improved seeds and other agricultural inputs registered significant increases. However, this study identified some bottlenecks inhibiting access to agricultural inputs by smallholder farmers. Majority of smallholder farmers revealed that they could not afford them (seeds, chemical fertilizer and other inputs) despite the subsidies. Furthermore, rainfall variability gives rise to fluctuating food production from one season to another; meanwhile, there is a lack of strategy from philanthropic practitioners to address the variability in rainfall. Through philanthropy, other methods of faming such as irrigation farming agroecology, and permaculture could be exploited to the benefits of smallholder farmers. The outcomes of this study have policy implications for philanthropic practitioners. This study shows that the failure to involve farmers directly in decisions that affect their livelihoods is a major cause of livelihood interventionist programme failures in Ghana. Thus, this study argues that understanding the socioeconomic dynamics in the Northern Region and amongst the farmers should be an important part of policy formulation for philanthropic involvements seeking to improve livelihood of smallholder farmers. Lastly, the study called for a separate policy framework for philanthropy that would have a key objective of mobilising private philanthropic resources to support steady economic growth and sustainable development, dealing directly with recipients.

This thesis is an examination of a moral, cultural and political movement referred to as the New Right. Its specific focus is on three Canadian right-wing organizations, each of which exhibits particular characteristics while at the same time sharing the basic ideological assumptions of the others. These organizations and their particular characteristics are: i) the prolife/profamily REAL Women of Canada and moral conservatism, ii) the anti-bilingualism and anti-Charter Alliance for the Preservation of English in Canada (APEC) and cultural conservatism, and iii) what was arguably the dominant New Right organization during its time — and as I show, among the weaker links in the New Right chain — the Reform Party of Canada and conservative populism. Though Reform was a relatively successful federal political party and the other two are pressure groups, the members in each nevertheless conceive of their respective organizations as vehicles for the authentic views of "the people." In other words, of these organizations see themselves as the true representatives of the majprity of citizens in English-speaking Canada who, they allege, have been deliberately denied political influence commensurate with their numbers since the era of left-leaning, "special interest" politics, policies and moral-cultural values took hold beginning in the late 1960s. By analyzing the New Right phenomenon in general and the three Canadian groups in particular, this project seeks to a) understand the ideological perspective of the movement; b) assess whatever tension, be it normative, policy-driven or strategic, existed between the groups examined herein; and c) determine whether or not such tension was indicative of a fundamental wealkness in the Canadian New Right. I also draw upon three basic questions to frame the analysis presented herein: 1. Is the Canadian New Right ideologically coherent? 2. What explains the New Right's relative lack of success in Canadian politics? 3. Is there a future for the New Right in Canadian politics? I keep these questions in mind throughout the thesis and reconsider them specifically in the concluding chapter. / Arts, Faculty of / Political Science, Department of / Graduate

The new philanthropy is increasingly seen as a panacea and an alternative source of global development finance for rural development, especially in developing countries. The theoretical underpinning of the new philanthropy entails the idea that the private sector, led by philanthropists and civil society organisations in social policy issues can lead to more effective outcomes through partnership. The existing literature on the new philanthropy mainly focuses on its economic or commercial impact. This is particularly the case in the rural parts of Ghana; there has been very little research on the new philanthropy’s impact on the livelihoods of the poorest segments of society. Therefore, this research investigates the impact of new philanthropy on the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Northern Ghana in order to fill the gap. The study employed ethnographic research, utilising qualitative techniques involving 20 stakeholders in philanthropy and livelihood affairs and 100 smallholder farmers. The research findings suggest that there is a significant relationship between philanthropic sponsored interventions in Ghana and an increase in smallholder farmers’ yields. The few farmers who purchased improved seeds and other agricultural inputs registered significant increases. However, this study identified some bottlenecks inhibiting access to agricultural inputs by smallholder farmers. Majority of smallholder farmers revealed that they could not afford them (seeds, chemical fertilizer and other inputs) despite the subsidies. Furthermore, rainfall variability gives rise to fluctuating food production from one season to another; meanwhile, there is a lack of strategy from philanthropic practitioners to address the variability in rainfall. Through philanthropy, other methods of faming such as irrigation farming agroecology, and permaculture could be exploited to the benefits of smallholder farmers. The outcomes of this study have policy implications for philanthropic practitioners. This study shows that the failure to involve farmers directly in decisions that affect their livelihoods is a major cause of livelihood interventionist programme failures in Ghana. Thus, this study argues that understanding the socioeconomic dynamics in the Northern Region and amongst the farmers should be an important part of policy formulation for philanthropic involvements seeking to improve livelihood of smallholder farmers. Lastly, the study called for a separate policy framework for philanthropy that would have a key objective of mobilising private philanthropic resources to support steady economic growth and sustainable development, dealing directly with recipients. / Government of Ghana.

This thesis presents a critical evaluation of the Alliance for Progress. Particular emphasis is placed on the main difficulties and failures that the Alliance has had during its first years of existence. However, certain specific advances occurring during this first period of the Alliance deserve mention. Attention is given to the relationships between economic assistance and economic growth, and to the reasons for the failure of the Alliance. The first part of the thesis gives the adequate background for a better understanding of the second part, which makes a severe examination of the accomplishments of the Alliance. / Master of Arts

The problem was that much effort was being put into an alliance for preparing school leaders with little evidence concerning how effective such groups were in promoting positive change. The purpose of this study was to provide a historical background for the National Alliance for Developing School Leaders that included the rationale for the endeavor, the identification of key actors and their roles, and perceived changes resulting from Alliance affiliation. The information gleaned from the study was intended to answer the formulated research questions. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and through examination of relevant documents. Data were coded and clustered to assist with the organization of a plethora of information. The information was then used to tell the story of the National Alliance for Developing School Leaders as told by those directly involved in the conception and development of the Alliance. Evidence indicated that change had occurred as a result of the National Alliance for Developing School Leaders, however, the degree of change experienced varied across university sites. Conclusions drawn indicated that the Alliance provided faculty and students exposure to new materials and teaching techniques, opportunities for increased presentations and publications, higher visibility, professional development opportunities that included area school administrators, and increased professional dialogue regarding changes needed in administrator preparation programs. Evidence existed that more on-site visits and opportunities to dialogue about the successes of each program as well as the difficulties encountered by the universities attempting to change their preparation programs were desired by Alliance participants. Participants reflected on their experiences resulting from involvement with the National Alliance for Developing School Leaders and then shared insights regarding essentials necessary for successful multiorganizational collaborative efforts.

No description available.

There is plenty of support for local musicians in Austin. It ranges from providing health benefits to receiving home loans to equipment insurance. The live music capital of the world has provisions for recording artists as well as street performers whose primary source of income is music. These facilities go a long way in maintaining Austin‟s identity as one of the major music cities in the world. They also bring together members of this community for benefits that help strengthen the local music industry, which has been an important part of the city‟s economy for several years. / text