An analytical framework for workflow technology adoption in local government authorities

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.The focus of the study is to develop a novel framework of workflow technology adoption (WAF) for public policy making. Workflow technology (WfT) has emerged to support both technological and economic importance for private and public organisations to meet competitive business and computational environment. Despite all the benefits of WfT, there has been limited adoption by policy makers. One of the reasons for this is the lack of a theoretical framework for researchers and a tool for decision makers that help in evaluating WfT adoption. Due to the limited knowledge on workflow adoption, from the socio-technical and organisational side, an academic challenge is to identify the key factors that influence adoption. To overcome these limitations, the proposed workflow adoption framework is based on the amalgamation of Technology, Organisation, Environment and Task Technology Fit theories that is evaluated and extended by using a qualitative multiple case study approach. Qualitative content analysis of the empirical data collected from three UK local government authorities resulted in a novel framework for WfT adoption, particularly for the policy making context, that has 17 factors, which influence adoption decisions. Findings revealed that attitude, organisation structure and competition did not have any influential role due to immense managerial support, constructive communication and thorough training provided to employees. Also, competition as an environmental factor had no influence over the adoption of WfT, since public services do not compete like in the private sector over market share, instead imitative pressure emerged due to close collaboration with neighbouring LGAs. It was also found that stakeholders and timescale had influence on the decisions and collection proved to be an important task characteristic of the LGAs. The major contribution of the framework is that it provides an understanding of the phenomenon by identifying key factors from the contextual perspective (i) technological set (complexity, relative advantage, compatibility and timescale), (ii) organisational set (managerial support, cost, information intensity and stakeholders), (iii) environmental set (government regulations and imitative pressure). In addition, it identifies functional fit of WfT with the task requirements by classifying functions (communication, information processing and process structuring) and policy making task characteristics (generation, choice, collection and combination) and then analysing the fit. Together it provides a holistic understanding of the phenomenon that aids informed decision making relevant to WfT adoption. Although, the literature has emphasised the technical aspects so far, this study contributes to future studies through organisational and managerial knowledge, classifying WfT’s functions and policy making task characteristics. Practical implications exist for the policy makers who can adopt the WAF as a recommendation tool to make informed decisions and achieve competitive advantage. Keywords: Workflow technology, IT adoption, decision making, policy making process and e-government

A WORKFLOW MODEL TO SUPPORT LOCATION BASED PARTICIPATION TO POLICY MAKING PROCESSES

This paper aims to propose PMWF model, a new workflow model to automate ubiquitous policy making processes and facilitate citizen participation. While workflow technology has been widely adopted in public sector, the use of technology is mostly limited to supporting back-end administrative business processes. PMWF model targets front-end policy making processes that require active participation of large number of citizens. Automatic delivery of relevant policy issues into citizen’s life is expected to enhance their participation in policy formulation and implementation processes. PMWF model provides modelling constructs to link back-end admin tasks by policy makers to front-end opinion tasks whose main actors are citizens. The core constructs for linkage is opinion-tag which contains policy issues and is attached to geographical objects so that citizens can identify relevant policy issues in the middle of their every-day life patterns. The proposed model is applied to real world policy making processes in the UK and Turkey to show its generality

Paradox of Strategic Partnerships for Sustainable Value Chains: Perspectives of Not-for-Profit Actors

The study explores strategic partnerships themes for Sustainable Agricultural Value chains (SAVC) dimensions. Acknowledging the role of stakeholders, business and Not-for-Profit actors, and their engagement in such partnerships, this study focuses on the latter’s perspective. Literature review followed by five exploratory case studies are used to examine SAVC partnership themes. The study identifies three themes influencing strategic partnerships: the interaction between partners through cooperation, coordination, and collaboration; management of information flow between partners; and product flow management with demand-supply coordination between partners. The level of information sharing between partners also influences SAVC value creation. The findings extend value chain literature by stressing the theoretical association between the identified antecedents and partnership in the sustainability value chain in general and the SAVC in particular. The exploratory case studies provide real-life perspectives and a practical framework in the context of SAVC. Managers, policymakers and international funded programmes can also benefit from the current key findings and the new framework as a referential basis to form a partnership strategy in agricultural sectors. This research suggests a further test for the conceptual framework using large-scale surveys in diverse geographic contexts and looking at trans-border value chain partnerships, especially in different country contexts that influence sustainable development and partnerships in SAVC.publishedVersio

Relationship between clinical anger and suicidal ideation among people with physical disabilities

Present research was intended to examine the association between suicidal ideation and clinical anger among the physically disabled. The Purposive Convenient study was conducted at Artificial Limbs Centre, Fauji Foundation Hospital Rawalpindi from February 2016 to November 2016. The modified scale for suicidal ideation and the clinical anger scale were used for data collection. Sample comprised of 150 physically disabled individuals including 87 (56%) males and 63 (42%) females.  Findings revealed that suicidal ideation had significant positive relationship with clinical anger and females were significantly higher in clinical anger and suicidal ideation as compared to males. Furthermore,results revealed higher mean scores on clinical anger by the participants having the problem of spinal cord 26.10±9.25 and suicidal ideation is higher in persons having problem of polio 15.87±9.41as compared to other physical disabilities. The study highlighted the need develop and enhance mental and physical health. Continuous..

Negative coping styles among individuals with cannabis use disorder and non-users

Objectives: To investigate the differences in negative coping styles used by individuals with cannabis use disorder and non-users. Methods: The quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted from November, 2016 to August 2017 at Foundation University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan, and comprised individuals aged 15-34 years. Data was collected from drug rehabilitation and university students of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The sample was divided into groups of cannabis users and non-users. Data was collected using the brief version of the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced inventory and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders version 5. Data was analysed using SPSS 21. Results: Of the 204 participants, 104(51%) were users with a mean age of 27±5.37 years and 100(49%) were non-users with a mean age of 25±5.65 years. The users scored higher at active avoidance coping compared to the non-users (p0.05). Active avoidance coping differed across individuals with mild, moderate and severe cannabis use disorder (p0.05). Conclusion: Active avoidance coping was found to be an important characteristic in relation Continuous..