Die Bürokratisierung von Kultur: Ein staatliches Kulturzentrum in Nordghana /// Arbeitspapiere / Institut für Ethnologie und Afrikastudien ; 98

Die vorliegende Magisterarbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Produktivitaet bürokratischer Routinen am Centre for National Culture in Wa, Nordwestghana. Staat, Nation und nationale Kultur sind keine fest umgrenzten Entitäten, sondern entstehen in einem andauernden Prozess der Aushandlung und Bedeutungszuschreibung und in der permanenten Reproduzierung ihrer Grenzen und Kategorien. Bürokratische Routinen und administrativen Prozesse werden als jene Praktiken betrachtet, die Kultur nationalisieren. Die Arbeit geht der Frage nach, wie sich die stete Reproduktion der räumlichen Verortung des Staats durch bürokratische Routinen auf die Grenzen von Kultur und die Kategorien, in denen Kultur gedacht wird, auswirkt. Das wichtigste Schlagwort ghanaischer Kulturpolitik ist „unity in diversity“. Einer Vielzahl „lokaler Kulturen“ soll ihr rechtmäßiger Platz im nationalen Potpourri eingeräumt werden, aber die gewünschte Vielfalt darf keine politische Sprengkraft entwickeln. Die zentrale Aufgabe staatlicher Kulturinstitutionen in Ghana ist daher, die „rohe Kultur“ (die im Dorf verortet wird), zu choreographieren. Die Verwaltungspraxis der Kulturbeamten unterstellt die Einheit lokaler Kulturgrenzen (wo auch immer man die ziehen würde) mit den politisch-administrativen Grenzen, nach denen die Kulturinstitutionen organisiert sind, und trägt auf diese Weise zur Naturalisierung staatlicher Kulturgrenzen bei.

Autonomy and authority in the lives of children who work as domestic servants in Ghana

Limited literature exists on Ghana's child domestic servants, and researchers have found it difficult to locate and study these children. The research for this dissertation used qualitative research methodologies and non-probabilistic sampling techniques to make it possible to interview child domestic servants, their parents, employers and recruiters in Ghana. The findings from the qualitative analyses informed the second part of this study, which was quantitative and tested hypotheses using crosstabulations and logistic regression analyses that were based on survey data from the Ghana Statistical Service. Explanatory variables in the quantitative analyses included lineage, level of education and relationships to the household head. ^ This study located findings about the processes of children's recruitment into domestic servitude, their working conditions and methods of remuneration in theories of slavery to answer the question of whether or not child domestic servants are slaves. According to the findings, elite households in Ghana exploit children from rural regions because they have taken advantage of a historical practice that allowed children to live with older members of their extended families to provide domestic services and in return, be given the chance to receive formal education or to learn a trade. The participants in the qualitative part of this research described the treatments that they receive from their employers as slavery. Nevertheless, the processes of their recruitment and the age at which most of them accepted such job offers made it difficult to categorize a majority of them as contemporary slaves. ^

Testing the effectiveness of a Practice Development intervention on changing the culture of evidence based practice in an acute care environment

In this age of evidence-based practice, nurses are increasingly expected to use research evidence in a systematic and judicious way when making decisions about patient care practices. Clinicians recognise the role of research when it provides valid, realistic answers in practical situations. Nonetheless, research is still perceived by some nurses as external to practice and implementing research findings into practice is often difficult. Since its conceptual platform in the 1960s, the emergence and growth of Nursing Development Units, and later, Practice Development Units has been described in the literature as strategic, organisational vehicles for changing the way nurses think about nursing by promoting and supporting a culture of inquiry and research-based practice. Thus, some scholars argue that practice development is situated in the gap between research and practice. Since the 1990s, the discourse has shifted from the structure and outcomes of developing practice to the process of developing practice, using a Practice Development methodology; underpinned by critical social science theory, as a vehicle for changing the culture and context of care. The nursing and practice development literature is dominated by descriptive reports of local practice development activity, typically focusing on reflection on processes or outcomes of processes, and describing perceived benefits. However, despite the volume of published literature, there is little published empirical research in the Australian or international context on the effectiveness of Practice Development as a methodology for changing the culture and context of care - leaving a gap in the literature. The aim of this study was to develop, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a Practice Development model for clinical practice review and change on changing the culture and context of care for nurses working in an acute care setting. A longitudinal, pre-test/post-test, non-equivalent control group design was used to answer the following research questions: 1. Is there a relationship between nurses' perceptions of the culture and context of care and nurses' perceptions of research and evidence-based practice? 2. Is there a relationship between engagement in a facilitated process of Practice Development and change in nurses' perceptions of the culture and context of care? 3. Is there a relationship between engagement in a facilitated process of Practice Development and change in nurses' perceptions of research and evidence-based practice? Through a critical analysis of the literature and synthesis of the findings of past evaluations of Nursing and Practice Development structures and processes, this research has identified key attributes consistent throughout the chronological and theoretical development of Nursing and Practice Development that exemplify a culture and context of care that is conducive to creating a culture of inquiry and evidence-based practice. The study findings were then used in the development, validation and testing of an instrument to measure change in the culture and context of care. Furthermore, this research has also provided empirical evidence of the relationship of the key attributes to each other and to barriers to research and evidence-based practice. The research also provides empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of a Practice Development methodology in changing the culture and context of care. This research is noteworthy in its contribution to advancing the discipline of nursing by providing evidence of the degree to which attributes of the culture and context of care, namely autonomy and control, workplace empowerment and constructive team dynamics, can be connected to engagement with research and evidence-based practice.

Military Service Pensions for public and civil servants in independent Ireland

In 1924 the Cumann na nGaedheal government introduced the first Military Service Pensions Act to provide monetary compensation for those who fought for Irish independence between 1916 and 1923. Pensioners who were in receipt of remuneration from the state as civil and public servants had a portion of their pension deducted commensurate with their state income. This controversial provision was criticised by all political parties as representing a mean-spirited attitude towards veterans of the independence campaign and treating civil and public servants differently from those in private employment. It was eventually modified in the 1940s and abolished in the 1950s. This article provides a case study that highlights the parsimonious attitude of Irish governments towards veterans of the independence campaign and shows how the treatment of public and civil servants reflected tensions between the government and the civil service in the early years of the state.

Legacies of White Australia : race, culture and nation

The White Australia policy continues to haunt Australia. Here, leading Australian scholars provide an informed debate on the essential issues of race, identity and nation that will determine our attitudes to immigration, multiculturalism and Australian-Asian engagement in the twenty-first century.

Nurses report a healthy culture: Results of the Practice Environment Scale (Australia) in an Australian hospital seeking Magnet recognition

The Magnet Recognition Program requires evidence that the nursing practice environment supports staff to provide optimal care, access professional development opportunities and participate in hospital affairs. This research aimed to assess clinical nurses’ work environment at a leading private hospital in Sydney, Australia using a version of the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index modified for the Australian context. Our results were comparable to Magnet hospitals for two subscales and significantly higher than Magnet results for the remaining three subscales and the composite scale. This was especially pleasing in relation to the hospital's preparation for Magnet recognition. Hospitals across Australasia might find administration of the Practice Environment Scale (modified for use in the Australian context) a useful exercise both as a stimulus to preparation and an indicator of readiness for Magnet recognition.

Participative leadership and the organizational commitment of civil servants in China: The mediating effects of trust in supervisor

The present study examines whether participative leadership engenders organizational commitment amongst Chinese civil servants and analyses the mechanisms by which it transmits its effects. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling revealed that there was a significant relationship between supervisor-level participative leadership and the affective and normative commitment of subordinates, but no relationship with continuance commitment. Affective trust was also identified as the mediator variable underlying the relationship between participative leadership and organizational commitment. We show that participative leadership of supervisors elicits higher levels of trust and leads subordinates to reciprocate through exhibiting higher levels of organizational commitment. Our study also reveals that Chinese civil servants who accept an unequal distribution of power between supervisors and subordinates typically exhibit lower levels of affective and normative commitment to the organization than those who do not. Our results provide greater support for the deepening of administrative reforms and the dissemination of participative leadership practices in China's new civil service system. © 2013 British Academy of Management.

Sleep quality and its associations with leisure-time exercise and excess weight among civil servants

O objetivo do estudo foi analisar a associação entre qualidade do sono, prática de exercícios físicos no lazer e obesidade entre servidores públicos de uma universidade. A amostra foi composta por 92 adultos de ambos os sexos. Qualidade do sono e atividade física foram coletadas por meio de questionário. O excesso de peso/obesidade foi diagnosticado pelo índice de massa corporal, o qual foi calculado com valores de peso e estatura relatados pelos avaliados. A prevalência de pessoas com sono alterado foi de 53,84%. Houve associação entre obesidade (OR= 7,22 [ORIC95%: 1,65-31,5]) e pior qualidade do sono, bem como, prática de atividade física e melhor qualidade do sono (OR= 0,19 [ORIC95%: 0,04-0,95]), independente de outros fatores de confusão. Concluiu-se que há alta ocorrência de distúrbios do sono, a qual foi associada de maneira independente com a prática de exercícios físicos e a obesidade.

Civil Service and the nation's progress.

Mode of access: Internet.

A review of the case of the civil servants of the Crown : with reference to the question of their superannuation and salaries /

Mode of access: Internet.

Record of services of the Honourable East India Company's civil servants in the Madras presidency, from 1741 to 1858... comp. and ed. from records in the possession of the Secretary of state for India,

Mode of access: Internet.