Organisational scapegoats and hierarchical constraints : a critical discourse analysis of inter-agency collaboration within New Zealand's public sector : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy (Humanities and Social Sciences) in Defence and Security Studies at Massey University, Manawatu , New Zealand

The legacy of the 2000s whole-of-government reform agenda promotes that public sector agencies work across the sector, encouraging an inter-agency collaborative approach to resolve the so called ‘wicked problems’ facing New Zealand. The initial 1980s public service reform agenda, established on a neoliberal philosophy, afforded greater decision-making autonomy to public servants and hierarchical simplification. Yet the author’s experience of inter-agency collaboration as a mid-level public sector official is that, despite best intentions, it is difficult in practice due to the paradoxical requirement of autonomous decision-making power and obligation to individual departments and their Chief Executives. These paradoxes manifest as tensions between the collaborative causal powers (agency) of public servants and the structure and practices of New Zealand’s Westminster system of governance that remains palpably hierarchical. This research uses Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as a methodological means of validating this hypothesis within the context of a case study of the National Maritime Coordination Centre. This theoretically driven research presents CDA as an alternative and instructive lens that provides an enhanced understanding of the real world issues associated with collaboration within New Zealand’s public sector to present possibilities for change

Can noncomplementarity of agency lead to successful problem solving? A case study on students’ interpersonal behaviors in mathematical problem-solving collaboration

In student collaboration, purposeful peer interaction crucial for success on the task. Such collaboration requires adequate and purposeful student agency. Theoretically, the between-individual complementarity of agency be-haviors enhances purposeful interaction. However, the level of agency of group members can disrupt the collaborative interactions. We conducted a case study of collaborative mathematical problem solving, where one student's behaviors of noncomplementary agency characterized the group interaction. We examined the video recording of the group by continuous quantitative coding of students' agency behaviors and segmented the interaction process into four phases. We analyzed qualitatively these phases based on the verbal transcript. We found that the target student's agency grew in relation to the other students despite her lack of mathematical competence. The findings provide us with a new perspective to understand the role of the situational individual agency in collaborative learning that underlines the tolerance of noncomplementarity of agency in student collaboration.Peer reviewe

A comparison of reimbursement recommendations by European HTA agencies : Is there opportunity for further alignment?

Introduction: In Europe and beyond, the rising costs of healthcare and limited healthcare resources have resulted in the implementation of health technology assessment (HTA) to inform health policy and reimbursement decision-making. European legislation has provided a harmonized route for the regulatory process with the European Medicines Agency, but reimbursement decision-making still remains the responsibility of each country. There is a recognized need to move toward a more objective and collaborative reimbursement environment for new medicines in Europe. Therefore, the aim of this study was to objectively assess and compare the national reimbursement recommendations of 9 European jurisdictions following European Medicines Agency (EMA) recommendation for centralized marketing authorization. Methods: Using publicly available data and newly developed classification tools, this study appraised 9 European reimbursement systems by assessing HTA processes and the relationship between the regulatory, HTA and decision-making organizations. Each national HTA agency was classified according to two novel taxonomies. The System taxonomy, focuses on the position of the HTA agency within the national reimbursement system according to the relationship between the regulator, the HTA-performing agency, and the reimbursement decision-making coverage body. The HTA Process taxonomy distinguishes between the individual HTA agency's approach to economic and therapeutic evaluation and the inclusion of an independent appraisal step. The taxonomic groups were subsequently compared with national HTA recommendations. Results: This study identified European national reimbursement recommendations for 102 new active substances (NASs) approved by the EMA from 2008 to 2012. These reimbursement recommendations were compared using a novel classification tool and identified alignment between the organizational structure of reimbursement systems (System taxonomy) and HTA recommendations. However, there was less alignment between the HTA processes and recommendations. Conclusions: In order to move forward to a more harmonized HTA environment within Europe, it is first necessary to understand the variation in HTA practices within Europe. This study has identified alignment between HTA recommendations and the System taxonomy and one of the major implications of this study is that such alignment could support a more collaborative HTA environment in Europe.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Freshwater security, conflict and cooperation: the case of the Red Sea-Dead Sea conduit project

This study examines the challenge of freshwater security faced by Israel, Jordan and Palestine, and mechanisms for multilateral collaboration that have been developed in order to create a Red Sea-Dead Sea Conduit. This paper outlines the proposed conduit as a major collaborative project which hinges on the engagement of both state and non-state stakeholders. The argument presented here is that the feasibility and planning process has so far been successful and that the mechanisms for collaboration developed as part of this project are the reason why. Overall conclusions suggest that the importance of freshwater security and the agency of international state and non-state actors are largely responsible for these collaborative successes

Inter-agency adult support and protection practice:a realistic evaluation with police, health and social care professionals

Purpose: Collaborative inter-agency working is of paramount importance for the public protection agenda worldwide. The purpose of this paper is to disseminate the findings from a research study on the inter-agency working within adult support and protection (ASP) roles in the police, health and social care.Design/methodology/approach: This realistic evaluation study with two inter-related phases was funded by the Scottish Institute for Policing Research. This paper reports on Phase 1 which identified existing gaps in the implementation of effective inter-agency practice by reviewing the “state of play” in inter-agency collaboration between the police and health and social care professionals. In total, 13 focus groups comprising representatives from Police Scotland (n¼52), Social Care (n¼31) and Health (n¼18), engaged in single profession and mixed profession groups addressing issues including referral and information exchange.Findings: On analysing context-mechanism-outcome (CMO), gaps in joint working were identified and attributed to the professionals’ own understanding of inter-agency working and the expectations of partner agencies. It recommended the need for further research and inter-agency training on public protection. Research limitations/implications – This unique Scottish study successfully identified the inter-agency practices of health, social services and police. By means of a modified realistic evaluation approach, it provides an in-depth understanding of the challenges that professionals face on a day-to-day basis when safeguarding adults and informed strategic recommendations to overcome the barriers to good practices in organisational working. The methods used to determine CMO could benefit other researchers to develop studies exploring the complexities of multi-causal effects of cross-boundary working. The use of the same case study in each focus group helped to neutralise bias. However, the voluntary nature of participation could have resulted in biased perceptions. The limited numbers of health professionals may have resulted in less representation of health sector views.Practical implications: Collaborative inter-agency working is of paramount importance for public protection worldwide. This paper reports on a Scottish study that focussed on the coordinated and integrated practices amongst the police, health and social services’ professionals who support and protect adult members of society at risk of harm.Social implications: Whilst the focus of this study has been on ASP, the conclusions and recommendations are transferable to public protection issues in many other contexts.Originality/value: Studies on the joint-working practices amongst police and health and social services’ professionals who support and protect adult members of society at risk of harm are uncommon. This  study investigated professionals’ perceptions of gaps and concerns pertaining to integrated working by means of a realistic evaluation approach. It recommended the need for further research and inter-agency training on public protection

Multi-agency training and the artist (Sharing our experience, Practitioner-led research 2008-2009; PLR0809/032)

The Multi-Agency Team Project approached issues of multi-agency training indirectly by using an artist as a catalyst in a group exercise examining movement and sound in relation to early childhood. The aim of the research was to run an experiential non-traditional training programme based on using an artist as a catalyst to promote inter-agency dialogue in one setting, Woodlands Park Nursery and Children’s Centre, and to analyse the findings. Eleven participants used this common experiential focus to frame collective research both as a focus group and as individual fieldworkers. The research demonstrated shared professional discourse but also collected judgements relevant to policy issues based on collaborative professional reflection triggered by the exercise. The findings are presented theoretically in terms of critical discourse analysis using the interpretation-supporting software ATLASti. We next take a further look at the role play exercise in which the group constituted itself as a ‘House of Commons Select Committee’ before summarizing what theoretical insights might be brought to bear and attempting to draw some provisional conclusions. Some evidence is presented suggesting there is a degree of tension and ambiguity between alterative models of multi-agency working

Stakeholder Collaboration as an Alternative to Cost-Benefit Analysis

This Article compares and contrasts cost-benefit analysis with “collaborative analysis” in agency decision-making. While mathematical models drive cost-benefit analysis, ongoing stakeholder negotiations drive collaborative analysis. Cost-benefit analysis relies on economists inputting numerical values into a model, whereas collaborative analysis relies on the diverse perspectives of groups and individuals affected by an agency’s decision. Administrative law scholars have exhaustively researched cost-benefit analysis while overlooking widespread agency reliance on collaborative analysis. This Article advances the novel observation that legislatures and courts sometimes treat collaborative analysis and cost-benefit analysis as interchangeable. Administrative law scholars might find it unorthodox, even irresponsible, to equate the deliberative process of average citizens with numerical calculations performed by economists. Yet, collaborative analysis works well in several contexts when numerical analysis does not: where data are scarce, burdens are unevenly distributed, normative values are at stake, and conditions are changing. Under such circumstances, agency officials report that collaborative analysis creates better outcomes, secures ex ante social approval of policies, provides adaptive decisionmaking, and reduces conflict and litigation risk relative to alternative tools. Despite the benefits of collaborative analysis and its surprisingly widespread use, its potential remains largely untapped. In identifying and defining collaborative analysis for the first time, this Article provides agencies, stakeholders, and courts the tools necessary to understand collaborative analysis and tap into its benefits

Teacher Agency Through Collaborative Expertise-building

Drawing on teacher agentive acts in the process of collaborative expertise-building in selects tertiary institutions in Southeast Asia, this paper maps out the conceptual configurations of teacher agency. In doing so, it avoids both the overly deterministic and individualistic views of agency by locating it within structuring conditions where individual acts are also mobilized. However, while most socially constructive views of agency focus on situated and institutional constraints of agency, this paper conceptualizes teacher agency in its broadest possible sense as historical, cultural and ideological phenomenon, arguing that agentive acts cannot merely be seen as either working for or against educational reform and transformation; rather teachers must take control of the process of knowledge production because it is by doing so that teachers can take ownership over their everyday classroom tactics and practices. Teacher agency in this sense is not simply a capacity to act but, in fact, an accomplishment of acts of producing knowledge for one’s professional practice

Examining students’ collaborative epistemic actions in a MOOC learning environment

Human intellectual development is grounded in dialogue and collaboration. This study examined how students’ collaborative epistemic actions evolve and expand in online collaborative learning meetings and how such actions may enhance students’ agency in advancing the conceptual understanding of learning tasks or problems in an institutional massive open online course (MOOC). As data, recordings of students’ online video meetings were analyzed using interaction analysis and interpreted using the cultural-historical theory of learning. The findings revealed that students engaged in four epistemic actions and several epistemic activities: (a) co-orienting (planning actions of engagement), presenting (sharing ideas explicitly), discussing (assessing and expanding ideas), and summarizing (reflecting and structuring). These collaborative epistemic actions (CEAs) evolved when students presented, explained, claimed, and vetted their epistemic positions related to creating the examination assignment in the online learning meetings. These jointly developed CEAs allowed students to position and contribute to the learning process according to their willingness and preparedness. By contributing to solving problems or expanding understanding, students can enact their epistemic agency, which becomes prominent in collaborative learning. Online collaborative meetings may foster students’ co-agency or engaged agency as students co-create a shared understanding of how to solve problems, leading to emotional, cognitive, and conceptual becoming

Learning From Collaborative Action Research in Three Organizations: How Purpose Activates Change Agency

Based on a 2-year collaborative study, this paper explores purpose as an enabler for change agency during the integration of new organizational concepts. We followed three organizations that attempted to actively use purpose to motivate and negotiate innovation-based change initiatives in their respective organizations. Data were gathered through a set of interviews and collaborative inquiry workshops, conducted individually with each organization and collectively with all three. Based on the data, the paper systematically analyzes five ways of how purpose may activate change agency. Moreover, the paper suggests that activation of distributed change agency can support the management of contextual ambidexterity. This study also points toward how other organizations can use the acquired knowledge, both from the study and the collaborative inquiry process