This qualitative study explores how youth in Tanzania, with low levels of basic education, manage their personal lives and seek opportunities in the workplace or in post-basic education training programs. In Tanzania, Education for All (EFA) has served as a key focal point of coordination between the government and the international donor community. While substantial attention has centered on the challenges of ensuring the sustainability and quality of EFA, there is relatively little known about the socio-economic circumstances of young school leavers and their perceptions of education and its relation to their post-school life trajectories. Using structuration theory as the theoretical framework to illuminate the dynamic interconnectedness of social structures and youth agency, I conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 young male and female school leavers. Disturbing patterns of social reproduction and a fundamental discontinuity between basic education and post-school challenges were revealed in the research. Yet, in view of their resilience, orientation to the future and entrepreneurial resourcefulness, findings suggest that despite profound qualitative shortcomings, aspects of basic education and the structuring effects of economic liberalization may be contributing to enhanced youth agency. The dissertation contributes to the theoretical discourse in the study of youth phenomena by adapting and advancing Klocker’s (2007) use of the notion of thinners and thickeners of agency within structuration theory. Exploring factors like educational quality and attainment level, in addition to those already established by Klocker (tribe, gender, age, and poverty), my research shows how young people’s agency can be attenuated or accentuated in space and time. This dissertation contributes empirical, hermeneutic and narrative data to illuminate the educational experience and post-basic education realities for a group of Tanzanian youth, reducing what has heretofore been described as a paucity of such qualitative accounts of marginalized African youth and the challenges they face.

Les TIC évoluent, vite et profondément. Autrement dit, l'évolution des TIC est susceptible d'avoir un effet encore plus profond qu'aujourd'hui sur la structuration des territoires, les modes de vie et les formes de socialisation, la localisation et l'organisation des activités, les conditions de compétitivité des territoires, etc. S'intéresser aux TIC dans la prospective territoriale ne signifie donc pas de céder à un quelconque déterminisme technologique, mais enrichir la liste des variables et paramètres qui influent sur l'avenir des territoires – voire même, identifier de nouveaux domaines de R&D pertinents à soutenir.L’objectif de notre thèse est d’analysé le rôle qui peut jouer l’Université Numérique dans la structuration de territoire donnée, ainsi qu’une mise en ouvre possible pour la Tunisie. / ICT evolve quickly and deeply. In other words, the development of ICT is likely to have a more profound effect on today's territorial structure, lifestyles and forms of socialization, location and organization, conditions competitiveness of territories, etc. Interest in ICT in regional foresight does not mean giving in to any technological determinism, but add to the list of variables and parameters that affect the future of the territories - even, identify new areas of relevant R & D support.The aim of this thesis is to analyze the role that can play the Digital University in structuring given territory, as well as implementing best to Tunisia.

<p>Identity tensions in religious organizations has become a popular research area in organizational communication within recent decades. This study endeavors to investigate lesbian identity tension within the evangelical, college-based organization Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru) with the guiding research question: How do lesbian former members of Cru and former Cru staff discursively navigate identity tensions regarding homosexuality within the organization? Through surveys of six lesbian former members of Cru and eight former Cru staff, this essay demonstrates a nuanced perspective of identity tension between homosexuality and Christianity in the United States and highlights common themes from all participants: anxiety, frustration, fear, shame, and regret. Utilizing structuration theory and feminism as overarching theoretical frameworks to shape the discussion on sexuality, race, identity, and concertive control, the unique narratives of the participants’ surveys and interviews provide new insights on the struggles of LGBTQ individuals within the de facto anti-gay organization, Campus Crusade for Christ (Cru). Interspersed throughout the work are autoethnographic vignettes from the author that serve as complementary narratives to demonstrate emotion as epistemology. This study provides a brand-new application of popular organizational communication theories to an underrepresented population (lesbians) in an understudied organization (Cru) to contribute to the ongoing research on identity tension in religious organizations.</p>

Les attentes autour du graphene peuvent être expliquées par les fortes potentialités applicatives de ce matériau (transistors RF, (bio)capteurs, TCL…). Sa grande surface spécifique, sa forte résistance mécanique ainsi que sa bonne conductivité permettraient de cibler des applications dans le domaine du stockage électrochimique tel que les pseudo-condensateurs. Il a été mis en évidence que des structures 3D de graphène définies comme des hydro- ou des aero- gels et présentant des surfaces spécifiques très élevées peuvent être obtenues. Ce type d’architecture présente un fort potentiel dans le domaine des matériaux d’électrodes carbonées pour le stockage de l’énergie et notamment pour les super-condensateurs. Leur obtention repose soit sur l’utilisation de molécules pontantes et de la création d’interactions covalentes ou électrostatiques, soit sur la réalisation d’aérogel à partir d’oxyde de graphène dans des conditions de pression/température établies. Basé sur ce contexte, le sujet de thèse présenté propose de développer des matériaux structurés à base de graphene (Fig.) pouvant être utilisés pour des applications en stockage électrochimique. La grande surface spécifique ainsi que la bonne conductivité du graphène permettraient de cibler de hautes densités d’énergie et de fortes puissances. Les différentes méthodes de préparation de ces architectures aérogels seront testées et les matériaux obtenus seront caractérisés morphologiquement (MEB, TEM, BET), structurellement (DRX) et chimiquement (XPS, IR, Raman, ATG). Les propriétés électrochimiques de ces espèces - correspondant à de nouvelles formes de carbones nanoporeux - seront ensuite évaluées. Ces structures seront également fonctionnalisées pour favoriser la formation d’une SEI stable et l’intercalation de certains ions. L’immobilisation de composés redox actifs sera testée afin d’insérer une composante pseudocapacitive au système. Les performances de ces matrices modifiées - s’apparentant à des matériaux d’électrodes pour pseudo-supercondensateur - seront enfin analysées. Les tâches que le thésard réalisera au cours de sa thèse seront donc variées et iront de la fabrication du matériau de base jusqu’à l’évaluation de son utilisation en cellule électrochimique. / The expectations around graphene come from huge potentialities for various applications (RF transistor, (bio)sensors…). Graphene high specific surface, mechanical resistance and conductivity make it specifically attractive for electrochemical storage applications. It has been shown that graphene sheets could be assembled to form structured graphene frameworks to translate the properties of individual sheets to functional materials and allow practical applications. The key features of these frameworks in terms of electrochemical storage applications are their graphitization level, their structural or textural disorder, and their porosity. On another hand, graphene has been interfaced with molecules to tune its electrical/optical properties or to make it more processable. The goal of the PhD project is to develop such structured graphene matrices following different methods such as the functionalization with bi-functional pilar molecules or the aerogel formation techniques. These assemblies will then be modified with different molecules to favor the formation of a stable SEI (solid electrolyte interface) and the intercalation of ions. The immobilization of redox compounds will also be attempted in order to bring a pseudo capacitive component to the system and target pseudo-capacitor applications. This thesis work will include material synthesis, assembling and functionalization steps combined to an important characterization tasks (IR, XRD, XPS, MEB, TEM, BET, electrochemistry...) The added-value of such work is that it represents an approach going from the basic material develop to the proof of concept.

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This dissertation was developed as two distinct themes within one final study. The first theme is located within Chapter 2 and Chapter 3. These two chapters examine the nature of both policy analysis and organizational theory in terms of their development within the American versions of Public Administration and Political Science. I conclude that the distinctions that have been created between the two areas of research are false, and that within the basic structure of American political theory both policy development and administrative implementation are a single unified endeavor. I then propose that Anthony Giddens Theory of Structuration offers both policy analysis and organizational theory a meta-theory that would allow for both areas of research to be reconnected. Various policy and organizational analysis models are examined, and alterations in these models are suggested to comply with the basic concepts of Giddens Theory of Structuration. A final model of analysis is presented which incorporates elements from these various models, and allows for the examination of the overall operation of a policy subsystem in terms of both policy analysis and organizational theory. The second theme is located within Chapters 4 through 10. The analytical model that was created in the first theme is applied it to a specific policy subsystem, namely the wire-based telecommunications industry of the United States. The relationship between the industry and government is examined from its original inception to the implementation of the Telecommunications Deregulation Act of 1996. Seven distinct periods of development are analyzed. Each period of analysis seeks to locate the basic underlying structural principles forming the foundations for decisions in both the private and public sectors, and the processes for adaptation and adjustment. The examination of the processes engaged in the various periods supports the conclusion reached in the original analytical model, namely that political and administrative interaction are in fact linked, forming a unified process. A single underlying structural principle is located that has formed the basis for the policy subsystems existence, namely the concept of Compound Federalism as originally envisioned by the Republic's Founding Fathers. / Ph. D.

Research on engineering design is a core area of concern within engineering education, and a fundamental understanding of how engineering students approach and undertake design is necessary in order to develop effective design models and pedagogies. This dissertation contributes to scholarship on engineering design by addressing a critical, but as yet underexplored, problem: how does the context in which students design shape their design practices? Using a qualitative study comprising of video data of design sessions, focus group interviews with students, and archives of their design work, this research explored how design decisions and actions are shaped by context, specifically the context of higher education. To develop a theoretical explanation for observed behavior, this study used the "nested structuration" framework proposed by Perlow, Gittell, & Katz (2004). This framework explicated how teamwork is shaped by mutually reinforcing relationships at the individual, organizational, and institutional levels. I appropriated this framework to look specifically at how engineering students working on a course-related design project identify constraints that guide their design and how these constraints emerge as students interact while working on the project. I first identified and characterized the parameters associated with the design project from the student perspective and then, through multi-case studies of four design teams, I looked at the role these parameters play in student design practices. This qualitative investigation of first-year engineering student design teams revealed mutual and interconnected relationships between students and the organizations and institutions that they are a part of. In addition to contributing to research on engineering design, this work provides guidelines and practices to help design educators develop more effective design projects by incorporating constraints that enable effective design and learning. Moreover, I found that when appropriated in the context of higher education, multiple sublevels existed within nested structuration's organizational context and included course-level and project-level factors. The implications of this research can be used to improve the design of engineering course projects as well as the design of research efforts related to design in engineering education. / Ph. D.

Yes / The race against ‘Digital Darwinism’ in public sector had caused failures of several high profile large-scale Digitally Enabled Service Transformation (DEST) projects. While technical and managerial issues are often emphasised as the factors underpinning such failures, the vital role of key actors and the interplay between these actors and structures is underplayed when examining the causes of DEST failure. To enable a richer understanding of DEST, this paper proposes an analytical lens combining Institutional Theory (IT) and Structuration Theory (ST) to explore the case of ‘Universal Credit’, a very large and ambitious DEST project in the UK. Analysis reveals that the institutional actors and structures played significant roles in the transformation process. Albeit governing the actors’ actions, institutional structures are shaped through actions that are influenced by knowledge, power and norms. Hence, recognising and addressing these subliminal factors are critical to promote actions that can facilitate DEST success. The contributions of this case study are two-folds. Theoretically, it provides a distinctive conceptual approach to study DEST; and practically, the lessons help in signposting better managerial practices.

Yes / As multinational enterprises (MNEs) increasingly disaggregate and disperse corporate headquarters (CHQ) activities, the allocation of regional management mandates (RMMs) to local operating subsidiaries is becoming more common. RMMs explicitly break with the traditional assumption of a clear separation between centralised and local decision-making. Yet we know little of how RMMs are enacted by the units involved, or how they evolve over time. Based on a case study of Unilever, we find that RMMs are inherently ambiguous, and identify circumstances under which ambiguity manifests and triggers cycles of sensemaking and sensegiving about the meaning of the mandate. These cycles result in the co-construction of the mandate by multiple units, with changes in RMM scope and governance over time. We also find that sensemaking and sensegiving are most intense among boundary-spanning middle managers. Our work challenges prevailing assumptions that mandates are largely unambiguous when assigned and are unilateral or dyadic accomplishments; demonstrates the importance of sub-unit level analysis in MNEs; and highlights the potential of structuration theory to enrich our understanding of sensemaking and sensegiving in organisations. / Funding from the Society for the Advancement of Management Studies (SAMS)

L’individu développe une existence dans un contexte collectif. Il y progresse dans la durée et se différencie selon le milieu familial, son caractère, les rencontres et les influences. Un collectif est constitué d’individus différenciés. Il existe de nombreux facteurs observables qui interviennent dans la construction d’une existence : le sexe, la religion, la famille, la fratrie, la pression sociale et politique, l’économie, les revenus, la scolarisation, le physique, la psychologie, etc. Une analyse exploite 300 biographies de personnes célèbres des deux siècles passés. Des conclusions importantes sont tirées de ce travail. On mesure ensuite ce que le collectif apporte ou retire à l’individu pour construire son existence. Les variables qui caractérisent un individu sont précisées et conduisent à une formulation théorique et générale. Ce travail s’achève sur une synthèse de quatre approches récentes : géométrie fractale, sensibilité aux conditions initiales, réduction/structuration et théorie des catastrophes / An individual develops his life in a collective context, where he advances throughout his life and becomes different according to his family, his character, his meetings and influences. An individual existence which differentiates people also constitutes a collective living. There are many observable factors in a collectivity which can influence the building of this existence: sex, religion, family, brothers and sisters, physical appearance, schooling, incomes, politics or psychological state. An analysis can be done throughout three hundred biographies of the two last centuries personalities. Then, the opposite procedure will be developed to measure what collectiveness can add or substract to an individual in his own existence building. Variants that characterize a person are defined with precision, there are the basis of a theorical and general formulation. This study ends in the synthesis of four recent approaches: “fractal geometry”, sensitiveness to the initial conditions, reduction structural building and finally theory of catastrophes