The aim of the research is to establish the potentIal of au approach to formative evaluation which utilizes and develops the skills of teachers. This 'teacher evaluator' approach depends on teachers planning, directing, controlling and carrying out evaluations. A detailed case study of the practice as it developed in one LEA over a three year period was undertaken. The research contributes to the debate about educational evaluation practice in five areas: It advances theory of educational particular reference to the UK. -It identifies an approach which enhances the professionalism of teachers. -Through the publication of a detailed case study it promotes the development of theory from the reality of practice. -It provides the ground work for forging new links between professional educational evaluators and the teaching profession. -It defines an approach to evaluation which has the potential to provide timely, relevant, and effective, formative evaluation. The teacher evaluator approach to evaluation can be seen as a natural extension of the developing research tradition in the UK which was stimulated by the work of Stenhouse. In the UK, partvcularly since Stenhouse published hiS seminal work in 1975, there have been a number of developments in educational evaluation practices particularly in the area of qualitative evaluation through action-research and school self-evaluation. It is the contention of this thesis that the teacher-evaluator approach fills a gap in this developing teacher-researcher tradition - that of LEA-wide project evaluation by teachers. Through careful examination of the evidence collected, the significance of thls development in the teacher~based research tradition, was analysed and subsequently confirmed. An approach such as this, which hands over the power of evaluation to teachers, is especially relevant in the light of current demands for accountability in education. However, the success and effectiveness of the approach was found to be affected by a variety of issues. These issues are covered in detail in the text and relate to three key areas: the framework established for the evaluation which depends on the local context; the role and responsibilities of the teacher-evaluators; the methodology and practices adopted. It is conSidered that this approach prOVides the framework for a new model of educational evaluation which combines the strengths of professional external evaluation with the knowledge and expertise of teachers, and which provides long term benefits for the LEA. ThiS case study is presented as a contribution to the development of an educational research tradition which Stenhouse identifies as essential to the improvement of education. Publication of this research may further stimulate work in thiS area and thus contribute to the advancement of theories relating to teacher-led evaluation.

The study originated from an independent evaluation of a Local Education Authority (LEA) project on multicultural education undertaken by a team of four teachers in two schools; a predominantly white, co-educational rural grammar school and a multi-racial, co-educational urban secondary modern. The thesis examines some key aspects of the conceptualisation, establishment, management and operationalisation of the project. The concepts of multicultural and antiracist education and the related research literature on their initiation in schools are considered. The procedures for the recruitment and selection of the project team are also examined along with the selection of the project schools, their organisation and ethos. The study focuses on the work of the team and their attempt to facilitate and initiate change at departmental and whole-school levels. The difficulty of the team's task and the complexity of racism are highlighted through a senior teacher's life history which examines his perspectives on 'race' and education. The research findings question the adoption of low-key multicultural approaches suggesting that they might marginalise the ability to address the issue of racism in schools and thus be counter-productive. Variables are also identified, in particular the occupational culture of teachers, which might have restricted the team's access to departments, the facilitation of collaborative teaching strategies and the implementation of whole-school policy. It is suggested that a team approach needs to be planned, executed and continually re-evaluated according to clear goals and shared objectives. It is also suggested that it might be advantageous for a team to possess subject-specific expertise and an ability to relate it to racism in the departmental curriculum. Moreover, throughout the process of change the issue of racism needs to remain explicit and, whenever possible, involve the black community in the decision-making process.

No description available.

This thesis contains three essays related to fixed investment and crude oil. The first essay examines the implications of building a cross-border oil infrastructure project within the context of the bargaining problem (the Nash bargaining solution, and the alternating offer bargain of Rubinstein). We examine the viability of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline project, which is employed as a case study - for the multinational corporation, and the three host countries (Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Georgia) by examining the profitability of the project for each partner with two different bargaining formulations (simultaneous and sequential bargaining). The findings suggest that the project is feasible for the partners when the transit charge is greater than $3 per barrel (this is the Break-Even charge at which the project produces a zero total surplus); but for a tariff charge higher than this rate, the project generates returns for each participant greater than his outside option. Furthermore, the outcomes show how with bargaining over discounted flows, each bargaining scenario results in a different total surplus. Thus, the participants’ discount rates, their bargaining orders, and their outside options are the determinants of the gross payoffs they receive over the life of the project. The second essay examines the effect of oil abundance on domestic investment in 22 oil-exporting non-OECD countries over the period 1996-2010. Employing static and dynamic panel estimators, the oil impact is investigated in light of other investment determinants which reflect government policies including output growth, inflation, the exchange rate, and financial and openness factors. Estimation results indicate that oil abundance exerts an adverse effect on gross domestic investment in these countries, implying the necessity of improving institutional quality and oil management polices to better exploit oil revenues and direct them towards enhancing domestic investment, thereby sustained economic growth in these countries. The third essay examines the effect of the oil price and oil price volatility on domestic fixed investment in a group of oil-importing OECD countries from 1970 to 2012 within the framework of the production function. Estimation results indicate that there is a long run relationship running from oil prices and the other control variables (output, trade, inflation, and the exchange rate) to investment where the long run coefficient on the oil price is negative and significant, but the short run coefficient on oil prices is insignificant. Thus, the outcomes of this study indicate that high oil prices are contributing to investment decline, which affirms the importance of adopting long run energy policies that might lessen investment reliance on non-renewable energy sources.

The dominant view in the information systems (IS) and software engineering literature is that the application of a rigorous pre-investment evaluation methodology is the key to ensuring the selection of the best IS projects ?? that is those with the highest expected value for the organisation and with the highest probability of success. While the literature is replete with methodologies that take a narrow view of IS evaluation, there is insufficient attention given to the evaluation process itself and to what constitutes successful IS evaluation. Whilst some within IS argue that the development of more elaborate evaluation methodologies, especially calculations of costs and benefits, is necessary for the advancement of the field, many report that it is not methodologies as such that need improvement. What is missing is an understanding of IS evaluation processes in practice and how organisations can adopt and apply evaluation methodologies so as to improve these processes. This thesis aims to provide in-depth knowledge of IS evaluation processes in practice and re-conceptualise the notion of the IS project proposal, the evaluation process and evaluation methodology that reflect the needs and critical issues in practice. These aims are achieved by conducting an in-depth case study of IS project evaluation processes in a company with a history of high success rates of its IS projects ($3 billion worth of successfully delivered IS projects in the past few years). By adopting Actor-Network Theory as a philosophy, approach and theoretical lens to the investigation of IS project evaluation processes in the case company the thesis demonstrates that: a) IS project proposals are dynamic, evolving and relational entities that become ??focal?? objects around which the actor-networks of aligned interest tend to emerge; b) that the evaluation process both creates an IS project proposal and its assessment within a core actor-network within which multiple business realities are enacted and continually negotiated; c) the evaluation methodology plays an important role of an actant (a non-human actor) by acting from a periphery of the core actor-network of an IS project proposal evaluation d) the evaluation methodology acts on behalf of management to regulate communication within actor-networks, ensure that company strategy is effectively implemented and that different IS Project Proposals are consistently presented in a mutually comparable manner; e) by defining a series of processes (steps), inscription aids (inscription forms, norms and rules) and mandated checkpoints the evaluation methodology engenders the evaluation process as ??science??; f) by allowing a degree of freedom in conducting the evaluation processes the methodology is also enabling the evaluation processes to emerge as ??art?? thus stimulating creativity and innovation, and finally, g) by balancing the science and the art of IS project proposal evaluation, the methodology is enabling, assisting and inspiring numerous actors in taking on ??journeys?? of IS project proposals and evaluation and thereby making a difference in their business environments. The thesis makes important contributions to knowledge in the IS discipline. Theoretically, the adoption and use of ANT revealed that the IS Project Proposal is not dormant but rather active, and key to the IS evaluation effort. The IS Project Proposal has thus been re-conceptualised as emerging, relational and dynamic. This thesis also makes a contribution to the re-conceptualisation of the evaluation methodology as being multi-purpose and active as it defines the ??science?? and enables the ??art?? in IS evaluation. The thesis also makes a number of contributions to practice, firstly by showing that documents in IS evaluation are not simply ??outputs?? that are archived away, but are active and are used to attract the right stakeholders. Secondly, it reveals that the ultimate success of the IS Proposal relies on finding a balance between the science and the art in IS evaluation and that the evaluation methodology can play a key role in promoting this balance.

The purpose of this research was to determine the impact of the implementation of a territorial model of development in the Yeguare Region of Honduras. The research questions look to determine the impact of the territorial approach for each of its major components: (a) youth development, (b) gender roles (c) sustainable livelihoods and (d) territoriality. The purpose was achieved through the following research questions: (a) What has been the impact of the youth participation and vocational education for the youth in the Yeguare Region?; (b) What has been the impact of the territorial approach on the development of the Yeguare Region?; and (c) How has the sustainability of livelihoods of the Yeguare Region been impacted by the territorial approach?. This study used two methods. Quantitative and qualitative methods permitted the gathering and analyzing of different types of project data. The quantitative analysis included descriptive and inferential statistics. The qualitative analysis elaborated and expanded the quantitative analysis. Ten themes related to the impact of the territorial model of development in the Yeguare Region emerged during the research. Youth leadership and entrepreneurship, youth expectations and future plans, and occupational status and welfare of the families were the emergent themes for youth development. Territoriality had the following emergent themes: priorities for local development, design of policies based on the established priorities, inter-institutional alliances, and organizational capabilities in the region. Sustainable livelihoods considered association capabilities, financial services, and welfare of the families as its emergent themes. The contribution of this study to the field of sustainable development was to expand the knowledge about the impacts of a territorial model of development in rural Honduras. Also, policymakers and project stakeholders may use this information to plan, design and implement more effective development programs, and may decrease project expenditures, increase income, and benefit the communities.

The dominant view in the information systems (IS) and software engineering literature is that the application of a rigorous pre-investment evaluation methodology is the key to ensuring the selection of the best IS projects ?? that is those with the highest expected value for the organisation and with the highest probability of success. While the literature is replete with methodologies that take a narrow view of IS evaluation, there is insufficient attention given to the evaluation process itself and to what constitutes successful IS evaluation. Whilst some within IS argue that the development of more elaborate evaluation methodologies, especially calculations of costs and benefits, is necessary for the advancement of the field, many report that it is not methodologies as such that need improvement. What is missing is an understanding of IS evaluation processes in practice and how organisations can adopt and apply evaluation methodologies so as to improve these processes. This thesis aims to provide in-depth knowledge of IS evaluation processes in practice and re-conceptualise the notion of the IS project proposal, the evaluation process and evaluation methodology that reflect the needs and critical issues in practice. These aims are achieved by conducting an in-depth case study of IS project evaluation processes in a company with a history of high success rates of its IS projects ($3 billion worth of successfully delivered IS projects in the past few years). By adopting Actor-Network Theory as a philosophy, approach and theoretical lens to the investigation of IS project evaluation processes in the case company the thesis demonstrates that: a) IS project proposals are dynamic, evolving and relational entities that become ??focal?? objects around which the actor-networks of aligned interest tend to emerge; b) that the evaluation process both creates an IS project proposal and its assessment within a core actor-network within which multiple business realities are enacted and continually negotiated; c) the evaluation methodology plays an important role of an actant (a non-human actor) by acting from a periphery of the core actor-network of an IS project proposal evaluation d) the evaluation methodology acts on behalf of management to regulate communication within actor-networks, ensure that company strategy is effectively implemented and that different IS Project Proposals are consistently presented in a mutually comparable manner; e) by defining a series of processes (steps), inscription aids (inscription forms, norms and rules) and mandated checkpoints the evaluation methodology engenders the evaluation process as ??science??; f) by allowing a degree of freedom in conducting the evaluation processes the methodology is also enabling the evaluation processes to emerge as ??art?? thus stimulating creativity and innovation, and finally, g) by balancing the science and the art of IS project proposal evaluation, the methodology is enabling, assisting and inspiring numerous actors in taking on ??journeys?? of IS project proposals and evaluation and thereby making a difference in their business environments. The thesis makes important contributions to knowledge in the IS discipline. Theoretically, the adoption and use of ANT revealed that the IS Project Proposal is not dormant but rather active, and key to the IS evaluation effort. The IS Project Proposal has thus been re-conceptualised as emerging, relational and dynamic. This thesis also makes a contribution to the re-conceptualisation of the evaluation methodology as being multi-purpose and active as it defines the ??science?? and enables the ??art?? in IS evaluation. The thesis also makes a number of contributions to practice, firstly by showing that documents in IS evaluation are not simply ??outputs?? that are archived away, but are active and are used to attract the right stakeholders. Secondly, it reveals that the ultimate success of the IS Proposal relies on finding a balance between the science and the art in IS evaluation and that the evaluation methodology can play a key role in promoting this balance.

Donor-funded economic and development assistance for various countries and regions has been steadily increasing in the last half-century. According to the World Bank, the funding amount provided by this organisation has increased more than 40 times from 4.6 billion USD to 166 billion USD in a 58-year span (World Bank, 2018). The notion of development, which came to spotlight after the WWII, has been greatly debated with a lot of academics and theorists linking it to dependency and superiority of one over another.  Since the beginning of the ICT revolution from around 1980s, technologies have become tools and enablers for new opportunities (Forester, 1987). However, with the great benefits, came significant risks, such as data and information misuse, data protection or cybersecurity. Still the ICT related development projects are often portrayed as silver bullets which can resolve matters such as inequality, access to education or poor living conditions. Funding organisations are putting digitalisation at the forefront of their agenda and communicate the change and positive impact they bring. However, the evaluation mechanisms used by those bodies raise the question of suitability as they are very much based on benchmarking against the Western standards of success or failure. This essay is aiming to investigate how significant is Western-centric worldview when it comes to measuring donor funded or co-funded ICT projects, be it in a form of a grant or a loan, as well as what role the terms impact and outcome play when communicating the results. It is also intending to analyse how the ICTs have been changing the notion of development and what conclusions can be drawn.

Os projetos são realizados por meio de processos e técnicas de gerenciamento cuja seleção está relacionada ao contexto no qual são realizados, sendo a complexidade um de seus componentes. Ainda não há uma definição única e amplamente aceita para o conceito de complexidade em relação aos projetos. Alguns autores a relacionam ao ineditismo, às interdependências e à tecnologia. Outros adotam uma abordagem holística, e outros, ainda, a avaliam sob uma conotação subjetiva. Nesse sentido, esta pesquisa objetivou estudar a complexidade dos projetos, sob a perspectiva de seus gerentes, e a sua relação com o uso dos diferentes processos de gerenciamento. A metodologia adotada pela pesquisa considerou o estado atual do conhecimento sobre o tema. Assim, ela pode ser classificada como não experimental, quantitativa e com alcance predominantemente exploratório. O universo da pesquisa foi composto por gerentes de projetos que trabalham no Brasil. A amostragem foi por conveniência e foi usado um questionário eletrônico (e-survey) como instrumento de pesquisa. Participaram da pesquisa 313 profissionais que atuam no gerenciamento de projetos. A pesquisa constatou a existência de relação da complexidade dos projetos com a frequência de uso de processos e técnicas de gerenciamento relacionadas à fase de planejamento e à gestão de pessoas. A pesquisa, complementarmente, constatou que a definição do escopo dos produtos dos projetos teria relação com projetos de alta ou muito alta complexidade, e que é plausível considerar que a complexidade dos projetos não se deva a uma característica ou fator específico, mas sim a uma composição de fatores. / Projects are carried out through management techniques and processes, whose selection is related to the context in which they are conducted and the complexity is presented as one of their components. There is no unique definition and thoroughly accepted for the complexity concept with regard to the projects yet. Some authors relate it to the uniqueness, to the interdependences and to the technology. However, others authors adopt holistic approach and others evaluate it under a subjective connotation. This research aimed to study the complexity of projects, under their managers\' perspective, and its relation to the use of a set of project management processes. The methodology adopted by the research considered the current status of the knowledge about the theme. Thus, this research can be classified as no experimental, quantitative and exploratory. The research population was composed by Projects Managers that are working in Brazil. The sample was chosen by convenience and an electronic questionnaire (e-survey) was used as research instrument. The sample was composed by 313 project managers. The survey found the existence of relationship between the complexity of the projects and the frequency of use of processes and management techniques related to planning phase and to managing people. In addition, it has been verified on the research that the definition of the scope of the projects products would have relation to the projects considered as of high or very high complexity. It is also reasonable to consider that the complexity of the projects should be not related to a specific characteristic, but to a set of factors.

Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how to release the potential of industry-university collaborations promoting sustainability-oriented innovation by analyzing the projects between the University of Borås and the Swedish fashion industry. As a result, it is the aim to develop a model which increases the effectiveness of these project collaborations and thus drives forward sustainability-oriented innovations in order to increase sustainable development within universities and companies. In the scope of this model, factors are identified, which if managed correctly, increase the probability of the collaboration. The outcome is a good practice model for successful industry-university research collaborations. Methodology This research follows a qualitative approach, including abductive reasoning. Therefore, a comprehensive literature review is conducted, delivering the basis for semi-structured interviews which provide empirical data. The results of the interviews are coded according to a template discussion, analyzing frequently used words and phrases resulting into focus areas for this research. Findings The results show that the sustainability-oriented innovation projects promote the companies’ strategic sustainable development on a long-term perspective. The industry and the university receive comprehensive knowledge which is created through synergy effects. The investigation discovered that the main driver for industry and university is the development of new sustainability-oriented innovative business models and the obtaining of new valuable knowledge. Out of the findings, a model could be created, presenting factors found to have significant impact on the success of the projects. Contribution This thesis contributes to academia as well as industry by developing a framework for the release of the potential beneficial impact of industry-university collaborations on strategic sustainable development. Further, the findings support and encourage the collaborative work between the fashion industry and universities towards sustainable development in Sweden. Thereby, this thesis supports the interconnection of different sectors by bundling their capabilities and knowledge to create innovation and progress in society.