Despite decades of research on school effectiveness and improvement, we continue to struggle to support school improvement at scale. I suggest this is in part due to methodological and theoretical limitations of the extant literature: While there is a growing consensus that leaders should “diagnose” school improvement needs to devise contextually appropriate improvement strategies, no empirical guidance exists to support how to make such diagnoses or which strategies to employ given contextual variation. I address this gap through a mixed methods analysis of how schools with varying improvement capacity at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City adapted and learned in response to the pandemic’s challenges. While the COVID-19 pandemic has presented school and district leaders with a more extreme context in which to confront a central problem that has confounded educational researchers and practitioners for decades: How can school and district leaders build the improvement capacity that will enable them to continuously meet the needs of all students in all schools? There are five key findings of the present study. First, using Latent Transition Analysis (LTA), I identified six statistically significant subgroups among all New York City elementary, middle, and high schools serving students in grades 3-8 (n=1225) based on teachers’ perceptions of school improvement capacity. I further described the relationship between this typology and school contextual covariates and student outcomes, depicting the types of schools that are classified in each subgroup and the relationship between subgroup classification and academic outcomes. Second, I demonstrated how teachers’ perceptions of school capacity varied from 2017-2019 and further identified a differential relationship between principal turnover and school improvement trajectories. Third, I found strong qualitative support for the quantitative typology, describing alignment between teachers’ and leaders’ lived experiences of school improvement and change and the quantitative typology and trajectories with one key exception: those schools that experienced a leadership transition after 2019 were most likely to have experienced dramatic change. Fourth, I found teachers’ and leaders’ perceptions of challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic varied, in part, as a function of their improvement capacity at the onset of the pandemic. Respondents in schools from high-capacity subgroups were more likely to view pandemic challenges as easy to overcome, while respondents in schools with minimal improvement capacity were more likely to be overwhelmed by the multiple, compounding challenges they faced during the pandemic. Finally, I found key differences in the strategies schools employed to adapt and learn in response to these challenges, which again, varied based on their improvement capacity when the pandemic hit. Together, these findings provide support for a theory of differentiated school improvement.

Introduction: This thesis examines skills and competencies among librarians staffing the service points (reference desks) at Uppsala university library. It analyzes and compares different ways to achieve knowledge and skills, such as education and experience. Focus is placed on a wiki that is used both as a team workspace and as a database containing work practice, instructions and information that is considered useful in information services. Method: Six semi-structured interviews were conducted with librarians. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. Recurring themes in the transcripts that were considered of particular importance were highlighted with codes to simplify analysis. Analysis: A qualitative analysis was made, inspired by practice theory. Some themes in the interviews were confirmed by practice theory, while others were interpreted as contradictive. Some contradictions in the librarian’s narratives could be explained by theory as being common constructions about the nature of knowledge. Results and conclusion: While education in library- and information science may be important in other parts of the profession, the librarians did not find it very relevant when working in information services, which could be considered a particularly practical part of the profession. However, while the theoretical content of the education was considered of low relevance, the experience of being a student was considered more important, as it helps in understanding the needs of the students who seek help at the reference desk. The wiki was found to be an appreciated tool, but arguments are made that it can’t replace the importance of having practical experience, and that it can’t record so called ”tacit knowledge”. This is a two years master’s thesis in Library and Information Science.

Mistreatment experienced by women delivering in healthcare institutions is a concerning pattern reproduced and normalized in health systems globally, causing widespread harm. Women’s reports and observations of childbirth practices in institutions have revealed that disturbing proportions of deliveries are characterized by indignity, humiliation, and neglect. The enormity of the problem constitutes a social catastrophe, as potentially hundreds of thousands are affected daily at a profoundly important moment of personal, family, and social life. Growing global concern has elicited research on mistreatment’s prevalence and characteristics, with limited attention to developing explanatory theory. The observed patterns indicate that mistreatment is systemic; therefore, social theory is required to understand why mistreatment persists, despite official norms that prohibit mistreatment and promulgate respectful care. Diane Vaughan’s normalization of organizational deviance theory from organizational sociology, emerged from studies of how things go wrong in organizations. The theory posits that organizational structures and processes are distorted due to resource scarcity combined with production pressures resulting in normalized organizational deviance in daily micro-level transactions. Furthermore, regulatory systems are unable to capture and mitigate the problem. Vaughan’s multi-level framework provided an opportunity for analogical cross-case comparison to elaborate theory on mistreatment as normalized organizational deviance.To elaborate the theory, the Tanzanian public health system in the period of 2010-2015 was selected as a case because it was the site of a seminal study to measure the prevalence of mistreatment, explore its causes, and develop and test interventions to reduce its occurrence. My participation in designing and conducting this study provided understanding of the phenomenon which formed the foundation of this dissertation. Novel theory was first elaborated through a systematic review of literature on maternal health care and the government health system in Tanzania. A broad Scopus search identified 4,068 articles published on the health system and maternal health in Tanzania of which 122 were selected. Data was extracted using a framework based on the theory and reviews of mistreatment in healthcare. Relationships and patterns emerged through comparative analysis across concepts and system levels and then were compared with Vaughan’s theory and additional organizational theories, resulting in a nascent theory. A qualitative theory-driven approach was then applied to verify and expand the nascent theory using qualitative exploratory data from the study in Tanzania described above. The data included eight focus group discussions and 37 in-depth interviews involving 91 individuals representing community and health system stakeholders. Data were analyzed deductively and inductively using the theory’s framework while allowing for emergent constructs. Analysis based on the literature review revealed that normalized scarcity at the macro-level combined with production pressures that emphasized biomedical care and imbalanced power-dependence on limited financial sources altered values, structures, and processes in the health system. Meso-level actors strove to achieve production goals with limited autonomy and insufficient resources, resulting in workarounds and informal rationing. Biomedical care was prioritized, and emotion work was rationed in provider interactions with women, which many women experienced as disrespect. The nascent theory developed through literature review was largely supported by the qualitative data, while providing further nuance and elucidating new components. Moral distress, which occurs when one knows the right thing to do but is prevented from taking the right action due to institutional constraints, emerged as an important systems effect of organizational dysfunction. In addition, the qualitative data revealed that managers coped with dual roles as both managers and providers and that the service interaction includes families, not solely providers, women, and newborns. The challenges in the regulatory environment also were clarified, highlighting that monitoring and observing mistreatment was hindered due to structural secrecy and the nature of mistreatment. The nascent theory revealed the importance of emotional labor and emotion work in understanding mistreatment. Emotional labor has been widely acknowledged as an important aspect of healthcare provision, especially for a positive patient experience; yet there has been limited attention to emotion work as the underlying effort required to provide respectful maternity care and prevent mistreatment. Qualitative data from the exploratory formative research were further analyzed to explore the characteristics of emotion work. 22 interviews and 3 focus groups with 44 maternity providers from different levels of care provision in two districts were analyzed using thematic analysis combined with affinity diagramming. Six key themes were identified that provide a deeper understanding of the emotion work required of maternity providers, including 1) expected to love and care for patients; 2) controlling emotions; 3) managing patient expectations in the face of system shortages; 4) providers are human beings too; 5) nurses are perceived as harsh; and 6) limited system support for emotion work. The themes and corresponding sub-themes highlight that the nature of childbirth care, the context, and gender norms influence the ability to exert emotion work and thus provide respectful care. Emotion work was expected but good performance was unacknowledged by the system. Additional resources are required, not only to ensure the most basic of resources to provide quality of care, but to ensure sufficient organizational support to address the emotional demands of providers. Systems need to acknowledge the extra effort required for emotion work and support and train providers to provide this care, as well as help them to manage difficult emotions that they experience due to the nature of their work. Analogical comparison with another case of organizational deviance enabled a novel approach to elaborate theory. Normalization of organizational deviance proved useful for understanding mistreatment. This theory and others from organizational sociology that explore why things go wrong in organizations may be relevant for other areas of persistent systems failure and underperformance. Further theory testing in different contexts and types of health systems is needed to understand the generalizability of the nascent theory and advance its development. In addition, many of the constructs, such as emotional labor and moral distress, have not been widely applied in low- and middle-income settings and require deeper study. This theory reveals the systemic factors driving mistreatment and can guide the identification of system leverage points to transform health systems towards ensuring a respectful experience during childbirth for women and their newborns. Ensuring that adequate resources are provided to achieve targets is essential, but organizational support to address the emotional demands of providers must also be provided. These changes will ease the burden among providers and managers struggling to provide care in under-resourced health systems. The extra effort required for emotion work should be acknowledged and appropriate training provided, as well as support for providers to manage the difficult emotions that they experience due to the nature of their work. The findings may also have implications beyond childbirth, as the theory highlights the conditions that may lead to burnout and poor mental health among providers, an ongoing problem worldwide that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This thesis examines the role of the former national screen agency in Scotland, which was in charge of distributing public funds for screen activity between 1997 and 2010. It examines how external factors such as cultural policy and internal factors such as individual approaches to film funding, affected the agency's perception and remit. The study draws on the institutional logics perspective (Thornton et al., 2012) to frame the interplay of two competing imperatives, one commercial, one creative, affecting the creative industries in Scotland and Scottish Screen's activities more specifically. However, it goes beyond this duality by examining more nuanced factors which significantly affected the organisation's trajectory and remit. Taking into account the predominant logic(s) throughout Scottish Screen's history and focusing on organisational responses during moments of transition or conflict, I use the analytical framework developed by Boltanski and Thévenot in On Justification (2006) to examine criticisms, justifications, and attempts at compromising expressed through official and non-official channels. The thesis outlines how opinions and decisions stemming from disparate views of what is “worthy” affected the agency's activity and funding decisions, as well as the dialogue with its stakeholders. The conclusions extracted from my findings inform existing literature on responses to plurality and challenge some claims made by institutional logic scholars: the first conclusion is that lack of conflict between logics does not necessarily translate into lack organisational conflict, as the latter often derives from different orders of worth which override the commercial-creative logic divide and are incompatible amongst themselves. The second conclusion, related to the first one, is that stability may be enhanced (at least temporarily) in a professional environment dominated by a plurality of logics as long as there is compatibility amongst the orders of worth set forth in pursuit of organisational goals. A third conclusion is related to the examination of some contributions to the orders of worth perspective and the study of plurality and instability in organisational practices, notably Boltanski and Chiapello's (2007) depiction of a seventh world of worth called the ‘projective city' (underpinned by the higher value of activity aimed at creating or maintaining ever-changing networks), and David Stark's (2009) study of plurality and ambiguity management in organisations. My findings suggest that organisational models based on pervasive, horizontal networks capable of transgressing traditional hierarchical structures were never fully deployed in Scottish Screen - traces of these practices are identified, but, overall, actors defended more traditional organisational scripts.

This thesis examines library managers' attitude to the composition of the library workforce and their perceived resources and power to promote a library workforce which better represents the community in which it operates. What do the managers consider causes this composition and what changes do they find possible to implement in the future. The method used for collecting the material was e-mail and telephone interviews. The material is analyzed mainly through Taylor Cox' theories about the multicultural organization in which Cox demonstrates the positive impact that cultural heterogeneity has at a workplace by creating non-discriminatory effective organizations in which people from all different socio-cultural backgrounds are included. Some intersectional theory and related research also form the basis for the analysis. The results show that managers are very much aware of the problem of an overly homogeneous library workforce. They express that diversity needs to increase in all public institutions for it to take place in a library context. They also believe that the most limiting factor of the ability to conduct successful diversity efforts is a lack of resources, time and budget. There is a widespread perception among the managers that a change in recruitment strategies must be implemented in order to overcome the homogeneity. The thesis further highlights a couple of managers' lack of sufficient diversity knowledge. Without the relevant knowledge among managers, one can not expect diversity strategies to be formulated adequately or implemented satisfactorily. Although the managers claim an eagerness to make a change, there is a lack of practical suggestions on which to act in their responses. However, it is not solely in the library managers' hands to improve the current situation, it requires everyone with influence on this issue to make it prioritized. This is a two years master’s thesis in Archive, Library and Museum studies.

Este trabalho aborda a problemática da fragmentação de saberes, no contexto da complexidade. As especializações científicas, a despeito das grandes e inegáveis contribuições produzidas, em situações complexas, podem fornecer soluções insuficientes ou irrelevantes. O foco deste estudo é o processo de transformação organizacional. Este estudo está apoiado em uma pesquisa empírica que parte de uma hipótese de trabalho, desdobrada em quatro proposições: 1) o processo de transformação organizacional é complexo; 2) a complexidade implica em que os saberes necessários são de diversas naturezas; 3) conseguir integrar tal diversidade de saberes - sem anulá-la - é um dos fatores críticos para o sucesso do processo; 4) os modelos de transformação organizacional levam em conta as três proposições anteriores. Uma entrevista semi-estruturada é aplicada a profissionais envolvidos diretamente com projetos de transformação organizacional. Os dados são analisados segundo a “análise de conteúdo". O referencial teórico consiste de três vertentes: 1) Histórico das iniciativas de integração de saberes (multi-, inter- e transdisciplinaridade) e dos movimentos de integração; 2) Mapeamento das dispersões de saberes em três ramos das ciências humanas (Psicologia, Antropologia e Sociologia); 3) inventário de contribuições acadêmicas sobre transformação organizacional. Os resultados da análise confirmam a hipótese de trabalho. Uma meta-conclusão é que a academia pode se beneficiar dos saberes sobre transformação organizacional para aumentar a integração entre as suas disciplinas. / This study approaches the span of problems of fragmentation / diversity of knowledge in the context of complexity. The scientific specializations, despite great and undeniable contributions, supplies insufficient or even irrelevant solutions in complex situations. The focus in this study is the process of organizational transformation. This study is based on an empirical research that begins from a work hypothesis, unfolded in four interconnected propositions: 1. the process of organizational transformation is complex; 2. the complexity implies that the necessary knowledge for the comprehension and management of the process is from diverse natures (interest, cultural, cognitive, functional); 3. to integrate such diversity of knowledge without nullifying it is one of the critical factors for the success of the project of organizational transformation 4. the models of organizational transformation regard the three former propositions. A semi-structured interview was presented to seven professionals with more than 15 years experience and who were directly involved in very successful organizational transformation projects. The collected data was analyzed according to the “content analysis" with a categorization according to the propositions of the work hypothesis that is thus tested by the consistency of the obtained answers. The theoretical system of references consisted of three factors: 1. History of the initiation of integration of knowledge (multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary) and the organized movements of integration. 2. Mapping dispersions of knowledge in three main branches of the human sciences (Psychology, Anthropology and Sociology). 3. Inventory of academic contributions about organizational transformation relating to the propositions of the work hypothesis. The analysis results confirm the work hypothesis. One meta-conclusion is that the academy itself can benefit from the knowledge of the organizational transformation to increase the integration of its disciplines.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-12-03T18:35:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Pachoal_Tadeu_Russo.pdf: 2519396 bytes, checksum: 4b17f1a07ca3b891d0773e2efee5c57e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-02-24 / Sabesp is the largest Brazilian basic sanitation company and one of the largest in the world, serving 26.7 million people in S??o Paulo. As a mixed capital company, it manages the dualism that exists between a business vision and another vision that is essential to public service. This complex situation has made Sabesp strive to find management mechanisms that would enable it to reconcile its strategic guidelines with its operational actions, and so, since 2004 it has been developing a Strategic Planning and Management Support Mechanism project of which Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a part. It is known that despite the broad dissemination of BSC, its use remains controversial. The general objective of this research is to propose an evaluation model of the institutionalization of Balanced Scorecard by organizations. The research was conducted using the single case study methodology. Starting with New Institutional Sociology - NIS and from the concepts of institutionalization stages and comparative dimensions developed by Tolbert and Zucker, a model was proposed to evaluate the institutionalization of BSC in a given organization. The model not only places BSC in stages (pre-institutional, semi-institutional and total institutionalization), but also makes it possible to know each of the characteristics of BSC that associate it with this stage, as well as revealing the consequences that the stage has on BSC itself. Based on this, a methodology was structured by means of a research tool for an empirical study that enabled knowing the factors responsible for the institutionalization stage of BSC, and which was applied in the development of a study in the case of Sabesp. It can be concluded that BSC at Sabesp is part of a set of tools for managing the strategy that has not been limited to the model proposed by Kaplan and Norton and that at Sabesp the managers have a low level of agreement with the practices adopted in the organization compared to those proposed by their creators, especially those related to the third, fourth and fifth principles of BSC, so that an organization can be oriented for the strategy. The results show that the Sabesp BSC is at the semi-institutionalization stage in a process of deinstitutionalization, which could cause its discontinuation and loss of the benefits generated by it. / A Sabesp ?? a maior empresa de saneamento b??sico brasileira e uma das maiores do mundo. Atende a 26,7 milh??es de pessoas em S??o Paulo. Como companhia de capital misto vive a gest??o do dualismo existente entre uma vis??o de neg??cio e outra de servi??o p??blico essencial. Essa complexa situa????o fez com que a Sabesp buscasse encontrar mecanismos de gest??o que possibilitassem estabelecer a concilia????o de suas diretrizes estrat??gicas com as a????es operacionais e para tanto desde 2004 vem desenvolvendo um projeto de Planejamento Estrat??gico e Mecanismos de Suporte ?? Gest??o do qual o Balanced Scorecard (BSC) faz parte. Sabe-se que apesar da grande difus??o do BSC seu uso ainda ?? controverso. O objetivo geral desta pesquisa ?? o de propor um modelo de avalia????o da institucionaliza????o do Balanced Scorecard pelas organiza????es. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida por meio da metodologia do estudo de caso ??nico. A partir da Nova Sociologia Institucional (New Institutional Sociology - NIS) e dos conceitos de est??gios de institucionaliza????o e dimens??es comparativas desenvolvidos por Tolbert e Zucker, foi proposto um modelo para realizar a avalia????o da institucionaliza????o do BSC numa dada organiza????o. O modelo n??o somente enquadra o BSC em est??gios (pr??-institucional, semi-institucional e total institucionaliza????o), mas possibilita ainda conhecer de forma detalhada cada uma das caracter??sticas do BSC que o associam a esse est??gio, al??m de evidenciar as conseq????ncias que tal est??gio tem sobre o pr??prio BSC. Com base nele foi estruturada uma metodologia, por meio de um instrumento de pesquisa para um estudo emp??rico, que possibilitou conhecer os fatores respons??veis pelo est??gio de institucionaliza????o do BSC e que foi aplicado no desenvolvimento de um estudo de caso na Sabesp. Pode-se concluir que o BSC na Sabesp, faz parte de um conjunto de instrumentos para a gest??o da estrat??gia que n??o se limitou ao modelo proposto por Kaplan e Norton e que, na Sabesp, seus gestores t??m baixo n??vel de concord??ncia das praticas adotadas na organiza????o comparativamente ??s propostas por seus idealizadores, enfaticamente aquelas relacionadas aos terceiros, quarto e quinto princ??pios do BSC para que uma organiza????o esteja orientada para a estrat??gia. Os resultados apontam que o BSC da Sabesp se encontra no est??gio de semi-institucionaliza????o num processo de desinstitucionaliza????o o que pode causar sua descontinuidade e a perda dos benef??cios que s??o por ele gerados

A pesquisa teve como objetivo geral investigar, sob a ótica da Nova Sociologia Institucional, quais fatores contribuíram para o enfraquecimento e abandono do Custeio Baseado em Atividades nas empresas objetos do estudo, Beta e Gama. As publicações sobre o Custeio Baseado em Atividades aumentaram expressivamente a partir de 1985, porém não obtiveram sustentabilidade no longo prazo. Percebeu-se muita confusão nos conceitos sobre o método de custeio e resultados das pesquisas não comparáveis, o que contribui para o seu desentendimento conceitual e potencial abandono do método. O caminho que levou aos achados teve base em pesquisa qualitativa e nas empresas estudadas foram avaliados os estágios de adoção do ABC, estágios de institucionalização e as variáveis de desinstitucionalização. Pelos distintos objetivos que motivaram a adoção do ABC, a empresa Beta alcançou o terceiro e a Gama o segundo estágio de adoção. O isomorfismo normativo, incentivado pela recomendação de consultorias, apresentou muita importância nas empresas, enquanto os demais isomorfismos, mimético, coercitivo e competitivo, apresentaram menor relevância. Durante o período de vigência do método de custeio nenhuma das empresas alcançou o estágio de total institucionalização. Ao avaliar os fatores de abandono e desinstitucionalização do ABC, o pressuposto com maior expressão foi o de pressão social, por não trazer inovação informacional, não ser uma exigência da matriz, além da falta de incentivos fiscais. Na categorização dos pontos críticos, foram mapeados dez fatores para a não continuidade do ABC sendo desses, seis inovações não previstas na literatura consultada e quatro que reforçaram a literatura atual. A originalidade deste trabalho reside no conjunto de achados que permitiram o desenvolvimento de uma estrutura básica para que acadêmicos e profissionais analisem antes de incorrer em investimentos e alocação de colaboradores que não trarão o resultado financeiro esperado pela descontinuidade do artefato adotado pela empresa. / The research aimed to investigate under the perspective of New Institutional Sociology which factors contributed to the weakness and abandonment of Activity Based Costing in the companies studied, Beta and Gama. Research on the Activity Based Costing significantly increased since 1985, but did not achieve long-term sustainability. It was noticed a lot of confusion in concepts about the costing method and research results presented are not comparable which contributes to its conceptual misunderstanding and potential abandonment of the method. The path that led to the findings was based on qualitative research and the companies studied were evaluated the stages of ABC\' adoption, institutionalization\' stages and variables of deinstitutionalization. By distinct goals that motivated the adoption of ABC among the companies studied, Beta reached the third stage and Gama reached the second adoption stage. The normative isomorphism encouraged by the recommendation of consulting firms presented a lot of importance in companies, while the remaining isomorphisms, mimetic, coercive and competitive, had smaller relevance. During the period of the costing method neither company has reached the stage of full institutionalization. Evaluating the factors of abandonment and deinstitutionalization of ABC the assumption with highest expression was the social pressure, for not bringing innovation informational, not to be a requirement of the head quarter, besides the lack of fiscal incentives. The categorization of the critical points, ten factors were mapped to not continuity of ABC being these six innovations not covered in the literature, and four that reinforced the current literature. The originality of this research lives in the set of findings that allowed the development of a basic structure for academics and practitioners to analyse it before incurring investments and allocation of employees who will not bring the expected financial results due to the discontinuity of the tool adopted by the company.

This study examined the relationships among organizational identification,work-group identification and intent to leave of online volunteers in a nonprofit organization—OCEF. A total of 245 participants completed the online questionnaire. Consonant with previous research findings, organizational identification and work-group identification has positive relationships; however, the hypothesis that both organizational identification and work-group identification negatively predict intent to leave of online volunteers was not supported in the present study. Furthermore, the level of organizational identification and work-group identification of online volunteers were high, but did not have difference in this study.

Thesis (M.M.S.)--Victoria University of Wellington, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references.