Background: Women who inject drugs continue to represent a disproportionate percentage of new cases of HIV in Canada (PHAC, 2006). However, in Nova Scotia, HIV has still not been conceptualized as a major health issue, especially among women (Gahagan, Rehman & Baxter, 2006). At the same time, recent research findings suggest that female injection drug users in Nova Scotia are engaging in unsafe injection and sexual practices and often lack access to harm reduction-based programming and resources (Ploem, 2000; PHAC, 2006; Jackson et al., 2010; Parker et al., 2011; Hodder, 2011). In a provincial context of high prevalence of injection drug use and HIV risk behaviours, preventing increasing rates of HIV infection will depend on the development of proactive and gender-informed HIV prevention policies. Purpose: This study had two main aims. First, it aimed to chart the development of provincial HIV prevention and harm reduction policies and to identify how, and if, the policy development processes address the HIV prevention needs of women who inject drugs. Its second aim was to identify key barriers and facilitators to developing HIV prevention policy for women who inject drugs in Nova Scotia. Methods: This study involved a review of key HIV prevention and harm reduction policy documents as well as interviews with 27 key informants directly involved with HIV prevention and/or harm reduction policy decision-making. Findings/Discussion: The existing Nova Scotia-based policy development network, their policies, their processes and the context within which they have functioned over the past ten years do not appear to be supporting the development of HIV prevention and harm reduction policy which addresses the needs of women who inject drugs. Policy committee composition lacked inclusivity and organizations that work directly with women who inject drugs held less influence in policy processes. In addition, gender was not prioritized by decision-makers and therefore not comprehensively addressed in policy content. As a result, the needs of women who inject drugs have not been prioritized in policy processes and subsequently few targeted resources are going to the community-based organizations that provide services to these women.

“The most dangerous form of ‘white supremacy’ is not the obvious and extreme fascistic posturing of small neo-nazi groups, but rather the taken for granted routine privileging of white interests that goes unremarked in the political mainstream” (Gilbourn, 2005, p.485). This genealogical (Foucault, 1979; 1990) research study interrogates the political nature of universities and their role in the maintenance of racial oppression. Using Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada as a case study, it analyzes and explores the racist historical underpinnings of the institution and the response of the university to incidents of racial discrimination in the early 1990’s— particularly the creation of the 1989 Principals Advisory Committee (PAC) on Race Relations. This work documents and examines the institutional, political, and ideological obstacles in implementing this comprehensive, university-wide anti-racism policy. This research reveals and traces the discourses of racism at Queen’s University. It analyzes how the histories, ideologies, and institutional policy responses toward racism have produced and perpetuated processes that function to control and oppress racialized minorities. The study begins with a chronological analysis of racism at the university and identifies and examines the discursive strategies and techniques that are employed to sustain racist practices. The study concludes with an analysis of qualitative interviews with original members of 1989 Principal’s Advisory Committee on Race Relations who drafted the 1991 Race Relations Report, and captures their reflections on the institutional challenges and obstacles in implementing this monumental anti-racism policy at Queen’s University. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2011-01-23 23:51:55.526

Ce mémoire vise à comprendre les enjeux sociaux qui ont animé le champ social de l’enseignement supérieur à l’étape de la formulation du projet de loi no 38 sur la gouvernance des universités et à mettre en évidence le rôle et l'influence des diverses catégories d'acteurs sociaux impliqués dans ces débats, chacun tentant d’imposer sa définition des enjeux en fonction de ses intérêts, de même que les facteurs explicatifs de cette influence (stratégies, ressources, etc.). Les débats qui ont eu lieu autour du projet de loi à l’étude ont été traité comme étant le produit d’un système d'action, lequel permet de classer ces débats selon une typologie des enjeux, correspondant chacun à trois niveaux de l’action sociale : enjeux fondamentaux, enjeux organisationnels et enjeux politiques. L’analyse des débats font état d’un rapport conflictuel entre les acteurs « externes » à l’université et les acteurs associés à la communauté universitaire dont l’objet est l’organisation et l’exercice du pouvoir entre les acteurs et les instances au sein des établissements universitaires. / This thesis aims to understand the social issues that have animated the social field of higher education at the formulation stage of Bill no. 38 on university governance. Also it aims to highlight the role and influence of various categories of social actors involved in these debates, each trying to impose its definition of issues according to their interests. The debates that took place around the bill are to be treated as the product of an action system, which presents these debates as a typology of issues, each corresponding to three levels of social action: fondamentals issues, organizational issues and political issues. The analysis of the debates indicate a conflictual relationship between the actors 'external' to the university and the actors involved in the academic community whose object is the organization and exercise of power between actors and bodies within academic institutions.

Der Bericht dokumentiert die vom LfULG angewandte Methodik zur Ermittlung repräsentativer landwirtschaftlicher Modellbetriebe in Sachsen. Mittels einer Clusteranalyse wurden Daten aus der Agrarförderung und die Buchführungsergebnisse von Betrieben in Sachsen untersucht. Im Ergebnis konnten neun Betriebsgruppen ermittelt werden, die repräsentative Aussagen für Sachsen zulassen. Diese werden als Modellbetriebe beschrieben und anhand von Strukturmerkmalen und Kennzahlen in Form eines Steckbriefes definiert. Die Modellbetriebe erlauben Hochrechnungen zu verschiedensten agrarpolitischen Themenfeldern.

This thesis explicates how an international literacy testing (ILT) initiative, overseen by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), is put to use to coordinate teaching and learning in adult literacy education programs in Canada, and in Ontario in particular. The testing initiative was conceived to manage and monitor global literacy resources, and promote their development for economic productivity and competitive advantage. Guided by institutional ethnography, the analysis reveals how certain operational and support devices of the testing initiative have been transposed into the context of adult education and training, carrying with them the ideological concerns of the economistic testing project and some of its methodological procedures. Various devices and technologies of the ILT are reformulated as individual assessments for adult learners, and are also incorporated— as is and with extensions— into a national occupational skills framework, a provincial curriculum reform, and a series of policy persuasion projects. Educators, program coordinators and curriculum developers, concerned with the development of literacy that is responsive to learners and their aspirations, recognize the limitations of the curricular frameworks and assessments. They devote inordinate amounts of time and effort reformulating, translating, force-fitting, and supplementing them. At the same time, a narrowly conceived locating information pedagogy—distinct from both academic literacy needed to access formal education systems and a responsive and situated literacy needed to actively participate in social practices—is developed and widely promoted. Policy entrepreneurs have incorporated the devices into their policy persuasion projects, including a project that profiles adults according to their literacy proficiency, their value in the labour market and whether or not they are ‘economically efficient’ to educate. Persuasion tactics are aimed at policy-makers and adult educators in order to convince them to shift educational support away from those who already experience limited access to educational opportunities (adults with secondary education or less) to those closest to reaching what is deemed to be an acceptable literacy level (adults with post-secondary education). Attempts to limit and privilege the purpose of adult education and training, in combination with the development of curricula and assessments that do the same, obstruct and contradict efforts to support equitable literacy learning opportunities for Canadian adults.

The debate surrounding the opinion polls of the political party Sverigedemokraterna, and later their results in the Swedish election has been evident. The purpose of the study is to investigate how norms of equal treatment in social work practice might be influenced by Sverigedemokraterna's understanding of culture, ethnicity, nationality and religion. The thesis is outlined through the works of Teun van Dijk and Ruth Wodak (2000) regarding racist discourse in politics, Giorel Curran (2004) explaining lesser established parties influence on the broader discourses and Anders Hellström and Tom Nilsson (2010) attempting to ideologically position Sverigedemokraterna. With the method for analyzing policy documents designed by Carol Bacchi (2009) the latest motions from Sverigedemokraterna has been analyzed. Bacchi’s theoretical framework, together with theory concerning the expression of modern racism of John Hodge (1999), Paul Gilroy (1999) and Bennedict Anderson (1996) amongst others has been used to create an understanding of the material. The study shows the existence of understandings within the party of cultures as separate and absolute differentiated from each other, coinciding with research on the matter of racism. Hierarchies amongst cultures defined by place of birth are created through the motions. Ideas of a Swedish culture is portrayed as more developed and superior culture. People's different rights of wellfare are made sense of through arguments of birthplace and embodiment of what the party defines as Swedish culture. / Debatten om partiet Sverigedemokraternas opinionssiffror, och senare valresultat har varit påtaglig. Studiens syfte är att genom analys av Sverigedemokraternas resonemang kring kultur, nationalitet, religion och etnicitet förstå hur normer i det sociala arbetet om likabehandling kan komma att påverkas av dessa sverigedemokratiska resonemang. Med utgångspunkt i Teun van Dijk och Ruth Wodaks (2000) forskning om rasistiska diskurser i politiken, Giorel Currans (2004) studie om mindre partiers påverkan på de politiska diskurserna och Anders Hellström och Tom Nilssons (2010) ideologiska positionering av Sverigedemokraterna har uppsatsens syfte utformats. Med Carol Bacchis (2009) metod för analys av policydokument görs en diskursivt inriktad textanalys av de vid tiden för studien senast publicerade motionerna från partiet. Tillsammans med Bacchis teoretiska ramverk för metoden används forskning från John Hodge (1999), Paul Gilroy (1999) och Bennedict Anderson (1996) m.fl. kring hur nyare former av rasism tar sig uttryck genom föreställningar kring kulturer. Analysen visar på sverigedemokratiska föreställningar om kulturer som skilda från varandra och präglade av olikhet sinsemellan, i överensstämmelse med forskning kring nyrasismens utgångspunkter. Hierarkier av kulturer kopplade till födelseplats utformas i resonemangen förda i motionerna, där idéer om en svensk kultur framställs som utvecklad och överlägsen. Människors rätt till välfärd sorteras i de sverigedemokratiska resonemangen efter födelseplats, och förkroppsligande av en av partiet definierad svensk kultur.

This thesis evaluates how municipal transit ridership in mid-sized cities is influenced by external factors. External factors are forces outside a municipality’s direct control but potentially affect the municipality in some way, in particular its transit ridership. The thesis also determines the appropriateness of municipal levels of response to each factor. Two mid-sized municipalities in Ontario, Canada – the City of Kingston and Region of Waterloo – were studied. The evaluation, first, identifies the trends or “current conditions” between the municipalities and five sets of external factors to determine influence on ridership. The factors are 1. Population Growth and Density; 2. Demographics (Seniors, Students and Immigrants); 3. Regional Location; 4. Federal/Provincial Impacts; and 5. Fuel Prices. Second, the municipality’s level of response was measured in three ways. Staff awareness of the factor and its influence was gauged using key informant interviews and municipal councillor surveys conducted by the researcher. Internal policy and guidance documents measured whether policies relating to each factor are appropriate. Finally, observations of implemented initiatives determined whether they appropriately deal with each factor. The study finds that more external factors act on Waterloo than Kingston. Therefore, Waterloo has strong incentives to prioritize – among many municipal responsibilities – its transit system and to focus on increasing ridership. The strongest incentives for Waterloo are population growth, the student demographic and federal/provincial impacts. Kingston has only one strong incentive: the senior demographic. The study also finds that Waterloo has appropriate levels of response to more of the external factors than does Kingston. Recommendations for Kingston and Waterloo are provided for improving their levels of response to each set of factors. The paper concludes that municipal size is an important driver, but internal levels of response are critical success factors. The data analysis matrix developed for this study can be used by other municipalities to help identify appropriateness of internal responses as they relate to the influence of external factors within their municipality.

Univ., Diss.--Kiel, 2001.

A busca de fontes sustentáveis de combustíveis líquidos, com o intuito de substituir o petróleo por uma fonte renovável e reduzir as emissões de gases do efeito estufa, destacaram e impulsionaram a produção e comercialização de biodiesel. Este biocombustível é uma fonte de energia renovável menos poluente e produzida a partir de diferentes matérias-primas. O Brasil possui promissor potencial como produtor destas matérias-primas, bem como do próprio biodiesel, pois possui políticas públicas favoráveis e detém a tecnologia necessária. No País, a produção e uso de biodiesel se sustenta em recente quadro institucional, a fim de desenvolver o suporte de conhecimentos, marco legal e introduzir este combustível na matriz energética brasileira. A diversificação de matérias-primas para produzir biodiesel está entre os principais objetivos dos programas instituídos. Todavia, no País, este biocombustível é produzido predominantemente com soja. Com o objetivo de entender os motivos da preeminência desta oleaginosa, buscou-se avaliar a competitividade, eficiência econômica e efeitos de políticas na produção de biodiesel pelas cadeias produtivas de soja, canola e girassol no Rio Grande do Sul. Para tanto, utilizou-se o método da Matriz de Análise Política (MAP), o qual auxilia na análise e definição de políticas públicas, e na identificação de possíveis falhas de mercado que possam impactar os resultados econômicos das cadeias agroindustriais, do mesmo modo que avalia a competitividade e eficiência econômica destes sistemas de produção e comercialização. Os resultados indicaram a superioridade da produção de biodiesel a partir da cadeia da soja, pois esta apresenta maior competitividade e eficiência econômica. Por outro lado, foram quantificadas as distorções de políticas que desfavorecem a rentabilidade privada e social das três cadeias estudadas, como, por exemplo, o sistema de pagamento ao produtor rural baseado no peso de grãos, mesmo que os percentuais e preços do óleo sejam muito diferentes entre as matérias primas, afora as diferenças significativas nos padrões tecnológicos adotados nas lavouras. / The search for sustainable sources of liquid fuels, in order to replace oil with a renewable source and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, provided prominence to the biodiesel. This biofuel is a renewable source of clean energy and produced from different raw materials. Brazil has a promising potential as a producer of these raw materials as well as the biodiesel itself, because it has favorable public policies and has the necessary technology. In Brazil, the production and use of biodiesel is based on recent institutional framework in order to develop and introduce this fuel in the Brazilian energy matrix. The diversification of raw materials to produce biodiesel is among the main objectives of the programs established by the government. However, in Brazil, this biofuel is predominantly produced using soybeans. In order to understand the reasons for the predominance of this oilseed, we evaluated the competitiveness, economic efficiency and political effects in biodiesel production by productive chains of soybean, canola and sunflower in Rio Grande do Sul. For this, we used the method of the Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM), which assists in analyzing and defining public policies and identifying possible market failures that might impact on economic outcomes of agribusiness chains, just as assesses the competitiveness and efficiency of these systems. The results indicated the superiority of biodiesel production from soybean chain, as this presents greater competitiveness and economic efficiency. On the other hand, policy distortions were observed which disadvantage the private and social profitability of the three chains studied, such as the farmer’s payment system based on the seed weight, even if the percentage and oil prices differ substantially from the raw materials, besides the significant differences in technological standards adopted in crops.

This dissertation explores the presence of Project Management (PM) at 162 American Universities via data gathered from their publicly accessible websites. Motivated to expand the inventory of American university PM data to the international literature, I experimented with the potential to correlate statistically PM data items to organizational models and the effectiveness of university management. Using Confirmatory and Exploratory Factor Analysis (CFA and EFA) statistical methods, I investigated two University Project Management Presence Models [U(PM)2] and their relationships to the interdisciplinary research framework. Drawing from Project Management, Policy Analysis Research, Organizational Theories, and American Higher Education Histories, I also included qualitative techniques in the research design. I conclude that this study facilitates the analysis of universities as complex organizations through a Higher Education administrator's point of view. Not only do the findings suggest a correlation of PM data to predict a university's graduation rate, but also--more foundationally--the study confirms that Project Management does exist at American universities, even if that expertise does not yet exist.