Worldwide, education systems have undergone unprecedented change due to a variety of economic, social, and political forces (Limerick, Cunnington & Crowther, 2002). The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is no exception. Continuous educational reform at primary and secondary levels in Mainland China has created new challenges and accountabilities for school principals. The important role of principals in primary and secondary schools has been acknowledged in both policy documents and the broader literature (Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, 1985; F. Chen, 2005; Chu, 2003; W. Huang, 2005; T. Wang, 2003). Yet, most of the literature on primary and secondary school principals in Mainland China is prescriptive in nature, identifying from the perspectives of researchers and academics what principals should do and how they should enact leadership. Lacking in this research is an awareness of the daily practices and lived experiences of principals. Furthermore, within the small body of writing on primary and secondary school principals in Mainland China, gender is seldom given any attention. To date, only a small number of empirical studies have focused on female principals as a specific category of research (Zen, 2004; Zhong, 2004). This study aimed to explore the professional lives of two female exemplary school principals in urban primary schools in Mainland China. A qualitative exploratory case study was used. Semi-structured interviews with each individual female principal, with six teachers in each of the school sites and with the superintendent of each principal were conducted. Field observations and document analysis were also undertaken to obtain multiple insights about their leadership practices. The conceptual framework was based largely on the theory of Gronn (1999) and incorporated five core leadership practices (vision building, ethical considerations, teaching and learning, power utilisation, and dealing with risks and challenges) taken from the wider literature. The key findings of this study were twofold. Firstly, while the five leadership practices were evident in the leadership of the two principals, this study identified some subtle differences in the way they approached each of them. Secondly, contextual factors such as Chinese traditional culture, the contemporary societal context, and the school organisational context, in addition to the biographical experiences of each principal were significant factors in shaping the way in which they exercised their leadership practices in the schools.

This thesis is the story of my five year journey developing a practice in integrating ‘green’ innovation within the built environment—mainly in new buildings. It is an exploratory thesis based on qualitative observation and documentation of my experience and detailed reflection on the successes and failures of this practice as I moved from naïve novice to expert. Initially I identified a great deal of desk-based and survey research on ‘green’ buildings, but little research actually looking at the field from within the practice of a building project. I thought that exploring this would create some understanding of why some ‘green’ initiatives were not taken up at the rate many people expected. / Through the telling of the over fifty stories which make up this thesis, I hope that I can create vicarious experiences in readers thus enabling them to use my journey to reflect on their own paths and to therefore learn with me. A number of useful tools and methods I developed to support my practice are presented, along with the key insights I extracted from my experience: that different types of ‘green’ information are relevant at particular stages of the building life cycle; that reflective practice is an essential tool in a facilitative practice working in a discursive, dynamic and complex field; that the power, culture and nature of the agents play a role in the ability to successfully integrate ‘green’ innovation; and, most importantly, that there is a need for all agents to have a voice in the integration of ‘green’ innovation into a project.

Development actions such as urban, residential, commercial, industrial and mining contribute significantly to the loss of biodiversity worldwide. As development and subsequent loss and degradation of habitats continue, terrestrial biodiversity offsets, or mitigation schemes are conservation instruments that increasingly are being developed, implemented, and used throughout Australia and abroad. However, the failure of offset policies and practices to incorporate sound ecological principles into their design and implementation has led to ineffective conservation and management of biodiversity through offsetting. The aim of this research was to develop a ‘recommended best practice’ offset framework for environments experiencing development pressure, and to inform planners and decision makers on a sound ecological approach to improve biodiversity outcomes for terrestrial ecosystems through the use of offsetting/mitigation schemes. A content analysis technique was applied to evaluate 26 local, provincial, and national biodiversity offset policies, guidance/discussion papers, and planning documents from five countries. Five ecological and planning criteria were applied to evaluate the offset policies. The results from the policy evaluation found that most offset policies contained vague, ambiguous statements and difficult to apply concepts and these results were consistent with a plethora of existing literature, which had identified that the planning of offsets lacked effective consideration and implementation of landscape-ecological principles, and that the protection of biodiversity through offsetting was not occurring. It is therefore important that national, state, and regional policies provide sufficient detail, with definitive performance criteria, indicators and targets, rather than vague principles which are open to ambiguous interpretation and inconsistency in implementation. The results from this research suggested that offset policies failed to protect biodiversity in that the majority of policies evaluated did not effectively incorporate ecological principles that would result in no-net-loss of biodiversity outcomes. This included a failure to recognise and consider the impact of offsets at a landscape-ecosystem scale in relation to ecosystem functionality and the viability of biotic populations. This research also indicated that a variety of tools (e.g., remote sensing, field surveys, and expert opinion) can be used to ensure effective consideration of landscape, ecological, and planning aspects of offsetting. The results of a case study in the Coomera-Pimpama region of Gold Coast City, Australia found that Gold Coast City Council explicitly considered only two of the five recommended off-setting criteria outlined in this research and as a result the conservation of biodiversity and in particular the habitat of the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) in this area remained threatened. Key strategies were identified to help improve biodiversity outcomes from offsetting and these included: requirements to assess both impacted and offset sites, minimisation of threats to offset sites, and collaboration with professionals in other agencies, ensure that statements are accompanied by definitions, policies provide sufficient detail with definitive performance criteria, indicators and targets, active engagement with agencies dealing with offsetting procedures, professionals, or researchers, effective commitments to facilitative integration, structural integration and collaboration, and strategic integration.

This research study examines the psychological and emotional experiences of children and parents as they embark on a permanent placement living arrangement. A permanent placement living arrangement is entered into when a child is no longer able to reside with their family of origin. Three family groups participated in the study and separate interviews were conducted with both the children and placement parents. Overall, three interviews were conducted, with the first interview taking place prior to the child’s transition into the family. A further two interviews were conducted with the participants after the transition had taken place. The findings of this study indicate that both the parents and children were profoundly affected by the experience of permanent placement. The common themes that emerged from the data were the hopes, anxieties and coping strategies of the participants which became the focal point of analysis. The parents experienced a mixture of fulfilment, tempered with anxieties of whether they would be able to provide adequate care for the child placed with them. Whereas, the children appeared to find it difficult to trust that this experience would be any different from their previous experiences. The study concludes that further attention is needed in the preparation for the transition into permanent placement. It further concludes that ‘after transition’ support is important to the stability of the placement.

In the rapidly changing ‘knowledge economy’ where ‘innovation’ and ‘responsiveness’ are vital, tertiary education can be at a point transformation. Since the late 1990s the New Zealand government began to shift part of its tertiary education policy with an increasing focus on what is commonly called ‘foundation’ education. The shift was aimed at ensuring all New Zealanders are equipped for the knowledge economy and raising the skills of individuals. A variety of research and education programmes were launched, and existing foundation or bridging programmes strengthened through policy, research and educational endeavours. Bridging education programmes (a subset of foundation education) are designed to prepare non-traditional and under-prepared students for ongoing study at a higher level. This current research sought to identify the influence of a university bridging programme (Level 4) on students who progressed into further study at undergraduate level. The bridging programme commenced in 2003 providing a pathway for students into undergraduate health degrees. The key question for this thesis was: how does bridging education influence students? To determine the influence of the bridging programme, this research was based on a case-study of seven students who completed four or eight papers in the bridging programme. Participants were in ongoing study (for at least one year) in a Bachelor of Health Science (any major). The methodology was qualitative in design, drawing extensively on a case-study approach to research the influences of the bridging programme. The method of data collection utilised was individual semi-structured interviews with former bridging students to ascertain their perceptions, views and experiences of the influence of a bridging programme, both historically and currently. In examining this unique context, information on the influences of bridging education was explored and the importance of bridging education, from the participant’s perspective, understood more clearly. This thesis and the research within revealed that the influence of the bridging programme began at the participant’s time of enrolment and continued into their undergraduate study and their lives. The bridging programme influenced the way participant’s interacted with a range of factors including: the institution; their undergraduate programme; with educators and peers; and with family, friends and others in society. Equally, it is acknowledged that these factors influenced the participant’s, facilitating or impeding their ongoing learning. The participants also identified several challenges (financial and relational) related to the influence of tertiary study which they faced. The research revealed the programme influenced their ongoing success and continuation in undergraduate study. The programme provided an effective bridge into tertiary education (academically, emotionally and socially). Participant’s acknowledged the influence on their cognitive and meta-cognitive growth and development. The range of tertiary leaning skills and knowledge gained and/or enhanced was considerable. Close links between the academic skills taught in the bridging programme and required in undergraduate study were evident. Positive improvements in confidence, self-efficacy and motivation were also attributed to the influence of the programme. Holistic personal development occurred as the skills and knowledge gained and developed were transferred and extended from academia into other areas of the lives of former bridging students and thus further influenced their family, personal friends and society. The influence of the bridging programme has enabled new opportunities, ways of being and employment to become more than a dream, but a reality which the participants continue to move towards. Overall, it could be claimed that the influence of the bridging programme was holistic. A series of recommendations are provided for theory, policy and practice. The significance for social issues and action are discussed and avenues for further research outlined.

This thesis aims to critically evaluate global intellectual property instruments with detailed analysis of the Agreement on Trade-Related Intellectual Aspects of Property Rights (the TRIPS Agreement) provisions in order to investigate the enforcement issues, confronted by the Developing Countries due to fragile legal infrastructure. These intellectual property laws are evolutionary and designed to protect and honour human intellectual creations since BC 400 which recognized them distinct from divine inspirations. Italian Renaissance witnessed the systematic recognition of human skill, craft, innovation and invention. Venetian Government institutionalized it by awarding patents and copyrights to skilled workers and publishers. Its primary purpose was to protect the trade and secondary was to foster intellectual creativity through reward and recognition. These rewards and recognitions, known as Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), developed with each new invention and creation. Industrial Revolution accelerated it and developed nations entered into international conventions to protect their nationals and their interests across the borders. In 1995, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (the TRIPS Agreement) accommodated all the previous (IPRs) instruments and its enforcement linked with global trade. It was a dilemma for developing nations who were desirous to participate in global trading system for their economic development but could not administer (IPRs) regimes on their land due to fragile and static infrastructure. All assistance from developed countries during the transitional period could not address the problems due to alien prescriptions, applied to counter problems in the developed World. Developing Nations need innovative, flexible and indigenous approach to administer the TRIPS Agreement. A case study of Pakistan judicial environment to address the TRIPS enforcement issue has been conducted. The methodological approach of this thesis is the interpretive paradigm of the qualitative research tradition. This interpretive paradigm or framework is applied through the two methodologies of hermeneutics and case study.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Although registered nurses have a plethora of information sources available to assist them in making clinical decisions, how this information informs such decisions is not well understood. Through the work undertaken in this thesis a deeper understanding of information use in clinical practice is developed. Information use in clinical uncertainty is explored, specifically in the context of making decisions about enteral feeding practices within critical care environments. Instrumental case studies were used to access the information use processes of registered nurses working in an intensive care unit. Two case sites (a Level III intensive care unit in metropolitan teaching hospital and a Level II intensive care unit in a district hospital) were selected for the purpose of theoretical replication. Data were collected to inform specific issues. Concurrent verbal protocols (think aloud), observation and retrospective probing were used to explore documented clinical decisions and the information used to inform those decisions. Q sorting was used to determine the accessibility and usefulness of information available to participants and focus groups were used to explore senior nurse clinician’s perceptions of the authority of the identified information sources. A synthesis of findings from the two case sites highlighted three key issues. First, natural testimony (the use of personal communication to obtain information) was privileged over other, more formal sources of information however the veracity of the information obtained through natural testimony was not explicitly assessed. Registered nurses relied on the credibility of the person providing the information, leaving the information itself unchallenged. The clear reliance on information accessed through natural testimony, but the evident lack of critical evaluation of information obtained in this way, indicates a need for the development of strategies for the critical assessment of the accuracy of this clinical information. Second, the findings highlighted nurses’ use of clinical inquiry. Nurses used clinical inquiry to resolve clinical uncertainty as well as for logistic reasons. Participant’s use of inquiry was influenced by their approach to work, the impact of both organisational and personal perspectives on the perceived value of their work; and by models of clinical leadership where an investment in relational capital was considered a strategy to positively influence a culture of inquiry. Although organisational documents which are designed to ensure quality and consistency of patient care as required by current clinical governance strategies were considered useful, these document were not widely used as a primary source of information. The use of organisational documents, as well as the need to practice in concert with such documents, was identified as a factor negatively impacting on the development and support of nurses’ use of clinical inquiry. Third, findings addressed the usefulness of information for clinical decisions and the resolution of clinical uncertainty. The usefulness of information was influenced by its relevance to a clinical question or information deficit, and by the media used to convey the information. In general, print based media was considered more useful than other forms such as electronic documents. While original research was not considered useful, nurses valued research-based practice and responded positively to incorporating research into practice, particularly if research was pre-appraised by colleagues who were able to disseminate research findings to the clinical area and facilitate its use in clinical practice. This case study indicates that information use is less about individuals and the clinical context in which they are making decisions, and more about the social, cultural and organisational influences that shape decision making, and the information selected to support those decisions. The preference for natural testimony as information in decision making may, on first consideration, be viewed as undesirable in a work context that relies on accurate and consistent documentation. Determining the credibility of the information provider and the accuracy of the information itself is also challenging in an environment where this type of information and the approach to accessing it is selected for its ease of accessibility and the speed at which it can be applied. Yet, the pervasiveness with which nurses rely on others for information suggests verbal testimony is important in the context of clinical practice and highlights the need to develop a clearer understanding of why nurses privilege this information. Therefore verbal testimony must be considered carefully as a strategy for providing information, particularly research-based information and this study therefore highlights the need to develop strategies that enable those providing information to convey their expertise as a clinician as well as a user and provider of information. The organisational culture and work structures currently in place in Australia are unlikely to undergo significant change in the coming years, therefore their impact on information use warrants careful consideration. The nursing profession and the higher education sector aim to foster through inquiry, the independent, evidence-based practice of registered nurses. Health care organisations also highly value independent, evidence-based practice but also promote patient safety through use of current clinical governance strategies. While these two goals can be complimentary they also create tension when clinical governance strategies stifle inquiry and independent decision making of registered nurses. Ultimately, the current health care system in Australia and the wider community expect an evidence base for practice together with clinical governance strategies that promote safe practice. Nurses, as part, of this system must be accountable for both in the context of their clinical practice. We therefore need with some urgency to determine how to best balance these complementary and simultaneously competing ideals.

Wirtschaftsuniv., Diss.--Wien, 2001.

Calif., Univ. of California, Diss.--Berkeley, 2002. / Kopie, ersch. im Verl. UMI, Ann Arbor, Mich.

Univ., Diss.--Stuttgart, 2006.