Thesis (M.A.)--Baylor University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-97).

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Kakali Bhattacharya / This dissertation presents autoethnographic narrative of my experience as the Deputy Commissioner of Education in Kansas while I was working to change how schools in Kansas are accredited to achieve better educational outcomes for students who were traditionally being left behind. Two types of data informed the study: tour data, and narrative data. Tour data refer to input that was gathered in 2015 during a 27-city tour across Kansas where the Commissioner of Education and myself asked three key questions to over 2,000 Kansans who attended these tour events. The responses were documented where attendants represented various stakeholder positions regarding educating Kansans. Upon completion of the first tour, the data were analyzed. To verify accuracy of the interpretation of the data, we organized a second tour to share results with stakeholders. Finalizing findings from stakeholder feedback, the State Board of Education set a new vision for educational reform in the state of Kansas. The second type of data informing this study is narrative data that shape the autoethnography. The purpose of this autoethnography is to highlight and connect critical narratives from my positionality of a Deputy Commissioner of the Kansas Department of Education, juxtaposed against state and local culture of public education that contributed to a new Kansas accreditation model. The autoethnography is broadly informed by narrative inquiry and writing as a form of analysis and inquiry. The critical narratives offer a historical documentation of the processes that influenced an educational reform in Kansas when such reform had its own political and logistical challenges. Without a narrative telling of the events that led to a new educational vision and accreditation model for Kansas, important conversations, thoughts and studies would be lost, and questions would go unanswered as to how Kansas developed its new vision and direction. Two broad insights emerged as a result of engaging in this study. First, the tour data informed us that, as an educational system, the model that holds schools accountable to students and communities is out-of-balance with the desires of Kansans. Unless educational leaders and policy makers change the accountability model for schools and students, it is not likely that the educational system will see any significant change in the current educational results and outcomes equitably for those students who are traditionally left behind. Second, by writing the autoethnographic narrative, I was able to trace my upbringing, advantages that I enjoyed, and the responsibilities that come with such advantages. Being from a family of educational leaders and adhering to a belief system instilled by my father regarding equity-based learning for all, the autoethnographic narrative allowed me to stay open to information that I might not have known from my advantageous position as I toured through the state. Further, focusing on the various roles that I play within Kansas such as being a federal liaison and state department educational leader, I engaged in deep listening during the tours to facilitate a responsive educational reform that highlight voices that might have been traditionally unheard or silenced.

The primary aim of this thesis is to analyse the key drivers of Organisational Excellence in the Public Sector and integrate them in a comprehensive, reliable and valid performance measurement system. Within the movements for Public Sector reform and modernisation, Total Quality Management (TQM) has increasingly been regarded as a way to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the use of the resources available, deliver better public services, and bring Public Administration closer to its customers and citizens. However, too often the initiatives carried out are not integrated, nor they are part of a systematic and coherent strategy to guide public organisations towards Organisational Excellence (OE). The literature suggests that adopting TQM can lead to superior performance, in spite of the difficulties of statistically demonstrating such link. There is also a prevalent view that TQM principles and core concepts are universally valid, but need to be adapted to each context in particular. In this sense, they are applicable to the Public Sector, although the existence of multiple stakeholders, the need to balance individual customer needs with wider collective purposes and the strong bureaucratic inheritance make their implementation particularly challenging. The exploratory survey conducted in the Portuguese municipalities - which constitute the focus of our study - revealed that TQM is raising considerable interest and diagnosed the main barriers and motivations for TQM implementation. Moreover, it gave support to the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) identified in the literature. Several organisational excellence models were reviewed. It is argued that Kanji's Business Excellence Model (KBEM) adequately covers the CSFs identified and, additionally, provides a sound methodology - based on the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach and the Partial Least Squares (PLS) technique - to estimate the relationships between them and determine their impact on an aggregated measure of OE. To measure OE from the internal stakeholders' perspective, a few adjustments were made on KBEM and new scales developed to assess the Local Government's performance in each CSF. The model was empirically tested and validated using data collected from 85 Portuguese municipalities and the internal OE index calculated. Given the critical role of Leadership (the prime of KBEM), this construct was analysed in detail. The key leadership requirements in an organisation committed to TQM and OE were identified. A model was then developed and used to measure, according to leaders' and staff members' views, Leadership Excellence in the Portuguese municipalities. With the purpose of evaluating OE from the external stakeholders' perspective, a Business Scorecard (KBS) was created. Feedback from citizens - the key external stakeholders of a municipality - was collected in each dimension of the scorecard. Using similar procedures, the model was validated and the scores for each latent variable computed. The OE index thus calculated drew attention to possible gaps between internal and external perceptions and called attention to the need of measuring OE from different angles. The system of performance measurement proposed is grounded in the CSFs identified and assesses performance from a multiple perspective by integrating feedback from the various stakeholders of an organisation. Therefore, it provides a more realistic assessment of performance and is expected to support the Local Government in its quest for Organisational Excellence.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This thesis explores the impact of the Caroline reform policies during the Personal Rule on the organisation, work-load, and morale of parish officers. In addition to suggesting a national approach to the study of local government, it examines the enforcement of the Book of Orders, Ship Money, and the Perfect Militia at the parochial level during the 1630s. The sources employed include the rich correspondence between the Privy Council and county governors (JPs, Sheriffs, Deputy Lieutenants), and all available parish officers' accounts from thirty-nine English counties and corporate towns. It is argued that the pattern of response to national policies was strongly influenced by communal values, and the administrative standards and individual character of local officeholders. The enforcement of the Caroline reform policies depended on their political acceptability and the ability of the Privy Council and county governors to coerce parish officers. While the Book of Orders was generally welcome in the localities, its implementation was adapted to local necessities and the administrative inertia of both JPs and parish officers. The supervision of the enforcement was restricted by the extreme dependency of superiors on information from parish officers. The administration of Ship Money was thwarted by local assessment disputes, economic depression, and political opposition. Its collection met with significant difficulties from the very start, and ceased under the pressure communities exerted on their officers. Far from being perfect, the militias maintained their standard under the constant supervision of the Deputy Lieutenants. The control of parishes over their officers was emphasised during the recruitment for the Scots' Wars and the collection of Coat and Conduct Money, both of which were causes of the failure of the English army. In conclusion, this thesis proposes that the response to national policies in early modern England varied considerably from community to community. A voluntary and highly decentralised system of local government was unsuitable to enforce contentious policies against the will of the population. The 1630s saw the partial breakdown of local government which significantly contributed to the collapse of the Personal Rule in 1640.

In diesem Artikel werden polit-ökonomischen Ursachen und die Folgen des Experimentes in Chile, bei dem 1981 das Pensionssystem radikal auf ein privat administriertes individuelles Kapitaldeckungsverfahren umgestellt wurde, analysiert. Dabei läßt sich feststellen, daß die gängigen Argumente, wie z.B. Erhöhung der Sparquote, Reduktion von Ineffizienzen etc., die über die Vorzüge eines individuellen Kapitaldeckungsverfahrens gegenüber dem Umlageverfahren ins Feld geführt werden, in Chile kaum ihre empirische Entsprechung finden. Vielmehr stellt die Transformation des Pensionssystem einen wesentlichen Teil eines umfaßenden Umbruchs in der Entwicklungsweise dar. Die Auswirkungen der Transformation des Pensionssystems werden in den Bereichen Staatshaushalt, Akkumulation und Verteilung näher untersucht. (Autorenref.) / Series: SRE - Discussion Papers

This thesis assesses the appropriateness and effectiveness of the economic reform and structural adjustment programme adopted by Egypt in 1991. It also examines the main political and economic constraints of such policies. It argues that it is unlikely to provide sustainable or equitable growth. It also argues that privatisation programmes in Egypt have a limited effect on improving levels of investment and growth. It stresses the need to encourage new investment to increase the productive capacity of the Egyptian economy in order to generate sustainable growth. The thesis examines in particular, economic reforms in the agricultural sector. It focuses on assessing price reforms so as to enquire how evenly distributed the benefits have been among farmers with different sizes of land holding. Those with big farms are likely to gain more while very small farmers and the landless are likely to lose. Within agriculture the thesis assesses the impact of structural adjustment on Egypt's agribusiness community. This sector is economically fragmented, has limited effectiveness and is politically weak regarding its participation and its influence on economic policy. The thesis argues that the success Df this sector is based on the availability of a strong and effective state to provide the legal and regulatory. infrastructure needed for an effective market economy, to abolish administrative obstacles and to enhance investors' credibility. In short, the thesis maintains that sustaining the economic reform is based on reviving productive investments and enhancing state capacity and democratisation.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This thesis investigates land reform coverage at the time of the land summit through quantitative and qualitative content analysis. Hard news reports, editorials and opinion pieces that appeared in the daily newspapers Beeld, Business day, Sowetan and Sunday newspapers Rapport and Sunday Times between July and September 2005 were analysed in terms of what they reported , issues that received little attention, portrayal of certain issues and sources used. The findings were used to make inference about the degree to which the newspapers in the study fulfill their societal roles. / South Africa