Steadfast is an expression of dance as an emotional and spiritual experience, as well as an exploration of the deep connections that may be fostered through the art form of dance. My personal experience, which will function as inspiration for this choreographic piece and performance, has led me to see dance as a means to connect with God when used as worship and a way to connect with other people and form meaningful relationships. Through the production and execution of this performing art I hope to explore and experience these aspects of dance as well as my own personal journey. I learned a vast measure about myself in my four years of college that led to the development of who I am today. This composition is meant to mirror some of the emotions that I experienced in my time of growth; however, I don’t want my piece to try to tell a story or follow a sequence of events. Instead, I hope this dance provides the audience with more of a deep, emotional, and spiritual dive into the places that my heart and soul went during this time-period. Steadfast means so much to me, and as the culminating artistic presentation in my college career, I want to use my growth as an artist and individual to display an array of emotions to the audience. The dance is a cry for help and surrender, but it also expresses the feelings of joy, love, and hope that one might feel when they make it through a valley and find themselves standing on a mountaintop. This ensuing written work is a narrative of the chorographic process and explanation of the inspiration behind the production.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Community Work in the Department of Social Work at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2012 / Community development in rural areas is under stress due to numerous setbacks such as theft, neglect, and lack of skills from the community to support development initiatives. The municipality remains the only relevant government institution that could deal with this unsustainable nature of community development by establishing an effective partnership with rural communities. In principle partnerships offer many advantages including that of sustainability of community development infrastructures. This study demonstrates that municipality has a valuable role to play in dealing with sustainability of community development. The study emphasises that both the municipality officials and the community should acquire relevant skills that would promote sustainable community development. The study was descriptive, exploratory and qualitative in nature. A survey questionnaire containing both qualitative and quantitative questions was used to collect the data from the respondents. The findings in this study indicate that the rural communities in Mandeni municipality are not empowered by the partnership between them and the municipality. The municipality is also experiencing a shortage of personnel and appropriate specialists to facilitate mentorship programmes for the rural communities on sustainable community development. In the study respondents also indicated that a partnership is necessary to empower a rural community on sustainable community development provided the community and municipality officials are trained adequately. Partnerships will increasingly become a popular approach to government-community relations, from this perspective there is a hope for improved services for communities in rural areas.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The United States spends more on healthcare than any other country in the world, but still trails most other countries when it comes to important health indicators. There has been an increasing recognition that in order to address this discrepancy, the U.S. health system must begin to address the underlying social determinants contributing to poor health outcomes. In light of this, the concept of “population health” has emerged as a framework and model for how to better address the social determinants contributing to unhealthy behaviors and increased rates of morbidity and mortality in the U.S. Various national initiatives, including reform related to how doctors and hospitals are paid, have been developed with the purpose of increasing the adoption of strategies to address population health among public and private organizations. In this dissertation I attempt to assess how these national policies are driving behavior and outcomes related to improving population health in private and public sectors. It is comprised of three papers focused on 1) a systematic review of literature to assess how hospitals are responding to policies that encourage them to form partnerships to address population health, 2) a quantitative analysis of how the Affordable Care Act has impacted population health by addressing tobacco use with policies to increase Medicaid coverage for tobacco cessation services, and 3) an empirical examination to identify hospital strategic partnerships to address population health and determine hospital and market characteristics associated with these partnerships. The main findings of this study indicate that while there is a growing amount of peer reviewed literature focused on hospital partnerships for population health there is still a need for more generalizable studies with rigorous study designs in this area; Medicaid Expansion as a part of the Affordable Care Act is associated with lower prevalence of tobacco use; and policies, such as Accountable Care Organization and Bundled Payment models, may be influencing hospitals to engage with a broad set of partners to support population health activities. Collectively these studies provide new evidence to suggest that national policies may be driving behavior in private and public sectors related to population health. / 2022-04-06

Chinese relations with African countries have increased significantly during the last two decades. In recent times, a large number of Chinese nationals have temporarily relocated to parts of the continent to engage in trade, mining and other businesses. The limited to no approach on Sino-African relations has created mixed feelings among Africans and especially scholars. A wide range of academic publications on Sino-African relations in recent times have especially focused on the impact of China on African economies. However, there is scant research on Ghana's partnership with China. The purpose of this study was to examine the challenges and opportunities of Ghana-China relations through the lenses of realism and liberalism as theoretical frameworks. The study adopted a qualitative approach. Data was collected through interviews with purposively selected respondents, along with field observations, archival reviews and relevant literature. The aim was to examine the impact of Chinese relations on Ghana, in the areas of development, governance, trade, aid and investment. A total of 35 respondents participated in the study. These included academics, market women, members of civil society and traditional leaders. The study found that some of the perceptions of ordinary Ghanaians about China were inaccurate and misplaced. However, the study revealed the tension that exists between local communities and Chinese investors. At the governmental level, it was found that the economic and trade relations between Ghana and China have become stronger. However, it was noted that, consistent with China's realist foreign policy orientation, and in spite of China's growing trade, aid and investment in Ghana, Beijing has on the whole enjoyed more benefits than Accra in the relations between the two countries.

Global warming is a severe threat to the climate and the planet's environment. Climate changehas been a growing area to focus on for the entire world, including all industries andbusinesses to date. One industry being brought up to light over the last years in thesediscussions are the mining and metals industry in which they play a significant role incombating climate change. The mining and metals industry accounts for about 7% of theglobal greenhouse gas emissions while also being a key producer of raw materials necessaryto enter a low-carbon society. To realise a sustainable shift within the mining industry whilealso increasing their production, focus must rely on how mining companies could changecurrent operations towards a cleaner and more sustainable mining process. There are two major types of companies operating in the mining and metals industry. Theseare mining equipment suppliers and mining equipment customers who also own the mine siteat which the equipment operates. Those actors are essential in enabling enhancedsustainability in the mining processes. After conducting extensive literature reviews, it wasrevealed that a significant focus on sustainable operations, stakeholder pressures as well aschallenges and opportunities for the mining companies in becoming greener. However, theliterature had not yet emphasised on the possible importance the partnership between miningequipment suppliers and its customer could have in achieving enhanced environmentallyfriendly mining solutions. Therefore, the authors of this thesis have chosen to answer thefollowing research purpose: “The purpose of this study is to create a deeper understanding of the challenges,opportunities and driving forces that exist in the partnership between customer and supplierin the mining industry in the development of establishing sustainable mining processes.” This study conducted multiple case studies on mining equipment suppliers and miningequipment customers to develop a deeper understanding regarding how drivers, challengesand opportunities in the partnership affects their operations toward enhanced sustainabilityperformance. The study follows an abductive approach in which the theoretical frameworkdiscusses sustainability theories, stakeholder theory as well as three different life cycle stagesaffecting any given partnership. This is done in strict connection to the mining industry andhow previous researchers and theories have investigated the industry. Furthermore, the datacollection was done by interviewing 8 different mining companies and some of their topmanagement employees. So forth, this study has a unique and highly relevant empiricalmaterial being based on respondents facing this dilemma at the very high level of the globalmining industry. The empirical findings reveal that the most influential stakeholder pressure rises from a vastamount of governments, investors, and local communities for the mining customers. On theother hand, suppliers highlight that mining equipment customers are their most influentialstakeholders to consider. That implies an unbalanced stakeholder pressure in partnershipbetween customers and suppliers in the mining industry which require enhancedcommunication, evaluation, and implementation structures to better align visions,expectations, and common operations towards increased sustainability performances.

No description available.

Administrative support of the instructional coach is critical to the success of instructional coaches in each building (Hall and Simeral, 2008; Knight, 2011; Sweeney, 2018). Effective instructional coaches support the transfer of new skills into practice to positively impact student learning outcomes (Costa and Garmston, 1994; Desimone and Pak, 2017; Knight and Cornett, 2007; Kraft, Blazar, and Hogan, 2019; Showers and Joyce, 1996). The purpose of this study was to identify instructional coaches' perceptions of principal support and the factors that contribute to those perceptions. The study aimed to address the following research questions: 1) What do instructional coaches perceive as principals' knowledge of the role of the instructional coach? 2) How do instructional coaches perceive the actions of principals in support of their work? This descriptive study examined instructional coaches' perceptions of principal support given to instructional coaches in one large, suburban school division in Virginia. Data were collected through an online survey and optional participation in focus groups. Findings included a misalignment between the instructional coaches' knowledge of the role of an instructional coach and that of the principal. Findings indicated the instructional coaches perceived support from the principal as including a shared knowledge of the role of the instructional coach, including the instructional coach in the vision for the school, maintaining regular communication and meetings, following up with teachers after a professional development led by the coach, providing professional development opportunities for the instructional coach, providing access to instructional resources, providing feedback on the work of the instructional coach, and building a relationship with the instructional coach. Implications outlined in the study identify specific actions principals can take to positively impact the instructional coaching in schools. / Doctor of Education / Instructional coaching is a growing method for building the capacity of teachers in schools. Administrative knowledge of the role of an instructional coach and principal support of the work of the instructional coach is critical to the success of the role of the instructional coach. Actions taken by the principal directly impact the perception of support for the work of the instructional coach and either negatively or positively impact the potential for the instructional coach to build capacity in the school. The work of instructional coaches is often interrupted by task assignments by the principal that engage instructional coaches in activities that detract from the instructional coach's role as instructional support. The purpose of this study was to identify instructional coaches' perceptions of principal support and the factors that contribute to those perceptions. Instructional coaches from one school division in Virginia participated in the study. The study yielded eight findings and eight implications for principal actions that improve the instructional coaches' perception of principal support for the role of the instructional coach. Findings from the study indicated the instructional coaches perceived support from the principal as including a shared knowledge of the role of the instructional coach, including the instructional coach in the vision for the school, maintaining regular communication and meetings, following up with teachers after a professional development led by the coach, providing professional development opportunities for the instructional coach, providing access to instructional resources, providing feedback on the work of the instructional coach, and building a relationship with the instructional coach. Implications outlined in the study identify specific actions principals can take to positively impact the instructional coaching in schools. Future researchers may want to consider completing this study with instructional coaches from various school divisions. Additionally, future researchers may also want to compare instructional coaches' perception of principal support with principals' perception of the actions of support given to the instructional coaches.

Authentic and effective family engagement requires a high commitment from the school principal. This study is a representation of the researcher's effort to better understand how principals can form strong school-family relationships in order to improve overall achievement for economically disadvantaged students living in rural communities. Interview data were examined pertaining to six elementary school principals serving Title I schools within rural Appalachia. Data were analyzed to identify strategies practicing principals and policy makers can use to better strengthen school-family relationships. The findings focus on the principals' role in fostering and improving these relationships. As an educator in a high-poverty school system in rural southwest Virginia, I want to add to the literature research-based strategies for implementing family engagement strategies in elementary schools within rural communities. This research should provide practitioners with effective strategies for reflecting on their own strategies and to build relationships with families to ultimately improve the overall achievement for students experiencing economic distress. / Doctor of Education / Authentic and effective family engagement requires a high commitment from the school principal. This study is a representation of the researcher's effort to better understand how principals can form strong school-family relationships in order to improve overall achievement for economically disadvantaged students living in rural communities. The researcher completed interviews with six elementary school principals serving Title I schools within rural Appalachia. This research should provide practitioners with effective strategies for reflecting on their own strategies and to build relationships with families to ultimately improve the overall achievement for students experiencing economic distress.

No / In the construction industry, subcontractors are subject to tremendous pressures in terms of quality, service and cost. Subcontractors have responded to these challenges in a number of ways, foremost amongst these has been by working more closely with their suppliers. Originality/value: Although many issues that should be considered in the partnership development process have been identified in the extant literature, the researchers have found that they have not been fully transferred to subcontractors in the construction industry. Purpose: This paper explores the implementation of the partnership development process and evaluates the utility of a methodology/guide that can be used by practitioners and consultants in the construction industry to facilitate the development of effective partnerships. The researchers have been involved in the partnership development process with two subcontractors in the construction industry. Findings/practical implications: The effectiveness of using the proposed methodology/guide to improve the partnership development process and thence to gain competitiveness is demonstrated.

No / Improving the effectiveness of projects, particularly in construction, is of interest and concern to practitioners and academics alike. To this end, the use of partnering, now commonplace in a variety of industry sectors has been encouraged in the UK construction industry. However, in many respects project environments represent the antithesis of current thinking in partnership development and an unusual and difficult application, particularly at the lower levels in the supply chain. This paper, therefore, is concerned with evaluating the progress the UK construction industry has made in its adoption of partnering, how it is likely to develop in the future and what the implications might be for the industry¿s suppliers. The partnering experiences of Main Contractors with Main Subcontractors for structural steel products are examined and a conceptual framework of the success factors presented and discussed. Critically, clients and not suppliers were found to be major barriers to the industry¿s adoption of partnering.