Författare:Elin Larsson och Ida Persson, studenter vid Magisterprogrammet i Projektledning vid Karlstads universitet. Bakgrund: Agila metoder är ett samlingsnamn för ett antal processer främst inom mjukvaruutveckling, men även för projektledning (Cervone 2011). Detta arbetssätt kom under mitten av 1990-talet som svar på en önskan om ett mer flexibelt arbetssätt och intresset för dessa metoder har ökat markant de senaste åren (Lindvall et al. 2002). I en omfattande studie kring bland annat motivation har Amabile och Kramer (2011) definierat termen inner work life som de processer som tillsammans bearbetar de intryck som en person får utifrån arbetsdagens  händelser. Beroende på hur dessa händelser påverkar personen presterar denne mer eller mindre bra på sitt arbete. Problemdiskussion: Enligt Tessem och Mauer (2010) har allt fler organisationer börjat använda sig av agila metoder med ett gott resultat på deltagarnas känsla av motivation. Vilka faktorer i de agila metoderna är det egentligen som bidrar till känsla av motivation? Forskningsfråga: Vad i den agila projektarbetsformen är det som påverkar inner work life hos projektdeltagare i praktiken? Syfte: Undersöka projektdeltagares upplevelser av den agila projektarbetsformen utifrån de teorier kring inner work life som presenteras i Amabile och Kramer (2011). Metod: Undersökningen baserades på en kvalitativ ansats i form av intervjuer utifrån en teorietisk förförståelse kring det agila arbetssättet och motivation. Teori: Den teoretiska grundramen bygger till största del på de teorier som Amabile och Kramer (2011) presenterat kring inner work life. För att nå en god förståelse presenteras även bakgrunden till agila metoder och detta specifika arbetssätt, samt andra forskares syn på motivation bland de som arbetar enligt de agila metoderna. Empiri: Sju intervjuer med projektdeltagare från tre olika projekt men i ett och samma företag har genomförts och utgör studiens empiri. Analys: Det insamlade intervjumaterialet har bearbetats och analyserats utifrån den teoretiska förförståelsen. Slutsats: Det som i det agila arbetssättet främst påverkar projektdeltagarnas inner work life är de dagliga mötena, tavla med lappar som beskriver olika arbetsuppgifter och projektets status samt teamets samarbete.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2002. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 202-210).

Afhandling - Copenhagen. / Summary in English and Danish. Bibliography: p. [131]-134.

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This research project explores the integration of the concept of urban green infrastructure (GI) into three “green plans” developed by four Winnipeg inner-city neighbourhoods. Through a literature review, “green plans” evaluation, key-informant interviews, and a focus group interview, many factors that influence on the urban green infrastructure planning in Winnipeg have been identified. These factors were synthesized with a SWOT-TOWS framework to identify strategies and measures to address situations that these inner-city neighbourhoods might face in the process of urban GI planning. Several conclusions have been drawn to summarize the research results, including: green infrastructure planning in the Winnipeg urban neighbourhood context will be taking different physical forms in terms of network connection, which will have great impact on the GI benefits, GI planning principles and processes, and planning practices in those Winnipeg inner-city neighbourhoods; the “green plans” of the four Winnipeg inner-city neighbourhoods provide valuable lessons for preparing for future urban GI planning; and incorporating urban green infrastructure into current neighbourhood “green plans” will face various opportunities and challenges. Combined with some internal factors, these opportunities and challenges put GI planning in different situations, each of which needs their own strategies and measures.

The possibility of urban decline in metropolitan post-war inner suburbs is currently being examined in the planning literature, particularly in the United States. Inner suburbs are built between 1946 and 1971 and are therefore older and structurally different from the later suburbs. At the same time, they lack the amenities of the core and the inner cities. This thesis aims to examine whether inner suburban decline is occurring in Canada. 15 largest Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) are selected for the purpose of this study. All CMAs are then separated into five urban zones: the core, the inner suburbs, the outer suburbs, and the fringe/exurbs. All zones are then assessed for decline based on relative changes in median household income, average dwelling values, and average gross rent in the period between 1986 and 2006. Subsequently, nine of the largest CMAs are also assessed for declines in the prosperity factor and the exclusivity factor. These variables are extracted via a factor analysis which includes variables measuring demographic, socio-economic, and housing characteristics. Results indicate that inner suburbs declined in median household income, the average value of dwelling, and the prosperity factor measures. In contrast, average gross rent and the exclusivity factor showed less clear results. Overall, the results obtained in this study suggest that Canada’s inner suburbs are experiencing decline. The possible causes of inner suburban decline remain poorly understood. A number of possible explanations are offered, ranging from the lack of urban appeal of the inner suburbs, the decline of the industrial employment sector, to aging housing stock, the movement of displaced low-income immigrants, and the aging of seniors with limited income. More research is necessary in order to establish plausible mechanisms beyond preliminary speculation. A number of policy approaches to inner suburban decline are outlined. Emphasis is placed on the revitalization of housing, greater cooperation between metropolitan regions and implementation of smart growth strategies. Further research avenues include the confirmation of the phenomenon in Canada, as well as policy case studies examining the success of planning approaches in arresting inner suburban decline.

The Neighbourhood Centres (NCs) in Sydney, Australia, were established to encourage forms of local control and resident participation and to provide a range of activities to build, strengthen and support local communities and marginalised groups. This thesis is concerned with exploring the personal conceptions, passions and frameworks, as well as the political and professional identities, of activists and community workers in these NCs. It also explores stories of practice and of how these subjective experiences have been shaped through the discourses around the NCs, some of which include feminism, environmentalism, multiculturalism and social justice. The following key research questions encouraged stories of community practice: What do the terms empowerment, participation, community service and citizenship mean for community organisation? What did community workers and organisers wish for when they became involved in these community organisations? What happened to the oppositional knowledges and dissent that are part of the organisational histories? Foucault’s concept of governmentality is used to explore the possibility that these NCs are also sites of ‘government through community’. This theoretical proposition questions taken-for-granted assumptions about community development and empowerment approaches. It draws on a willingness of the research participants to take up postmodern and poststructuralist theories. ‘Practising place’ emerges in the research as a description of a particular form of activism and community work associated with these inner city Sydney NCs. The central dimensions of ‘practising place’ include: a commitment to identity work; an openness to exploring diverse and fluid citizenship and identity formations; and the use of local knowledges to develop a critique of social processes. Another feature of ‘practising place’ is that it involves an analysis of the operation of power that extends beyond structuralist explanations of how to bring about social change and transform social relations. The research has deconstructed assumptions about empowerment, community participation, community organisations and community development, consequently another way of talking about the work of small locally based community organisations emerges. This new way of talking builds upon research participants’ understandings of power and demonstrates the utility of applying a poststructural analysis to activist and community work practices. Overall the research suggests that if activists and community workers are to work with new understandings of the operation of power, then the languages and social practices associated with activist and community work traditions need to be constantly and reflexively analysed and questioned.

Afhandling - Copenhagen. / Summary in English and Danish. Bibliography: p. [131]-134.

Thesis (Master)--İzmir Institute of Technology, İzmir, 2005 / Keywords:Uneven development, urban decline, urban deprivation, residential areas. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-101).

Thesis (M.A.B.S.)--Multnomah Graduate School of Ministry, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-116).