http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/7875 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/46675 To be of use : creative practice across the front lines of economic self-sufficiency programs Goldman, Laurie S How public serving agencies uphold the principles of responsiveness to multiple stakeholders and responsibility for program performance is a common theme in contemporary public management discourse. The contributions of frontline human service workers, however, have received relatively scant attention. Despite their prevalence among those charged with implementing social welfare policies and the acknowledged importance of their interactions with clients and other stakeholders, frontline staff continue to be perceived as part of the problem of government rather than potential contributors to the work of governance. This dissertation examines how workers with minimal authority or recognized professional expertise apply their knowledge from practice and commitment to service to enhance accountability, assume responsibility for improving program delivery, and develop their capacity to engage in both of these core tasks.The study is based on five years of observations of three forums where frontline practitioners who operate the same two economic self-sufficiency programs in different nonprofit and public low-income housing agencies meet regularly to discuss common challenges, share solutions, and design new approaches to making the programs work better. These observations inform the concept of creative street-level practice I develop to describe departures from official program directives that add value to ongoing program delivery according to the community of practice.I find that creative street-level practice is feasible in the context of both flexible and more rigid regulatory program designs. The self-sufficiency practitioners use strategies of collaboration and sensemaking to generate novel practices that range from subtle, procedural modifications to entirely new program elements. Creative street-level practice is a dynamic process that evolves incrementally over stages of program implementation and in response to developments in the organizational, economic, and policy environment. Participation in the discussion forums enhances the capacity for creative practice. The forums function as learning networks, work teams for collective action, and support groups for sustaining members' commitment to keeping up the effort. Forum members generate and enact more creative practices when they perceive problems to be urgent and feasible for them to address and when external actors help facilitate discussion and convey their ideas to decision-makers. Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (p. 437-451). http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/46624 Strategic Unionism : the political role of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in South Africa and what it means for black workers Misra, Neeta This dissertation looks at the political role of trade unions in developing countries. Trade unions and particularly their engagement in political unionism have been absent from the development literature in recent decades. However, recently there has been a renewed interest in the role of trade unions and particularly in their political role as trade union movements in Argentina, Venezuela and Brazil have effectuated regime change by assisting labour based political parties to rise to power. I contribute to this trend by studying the role of the Congress of South African Trade unions (COSATU) and their role in shaping South Africa's transition to democracy. I use the story of COSATU to build on a theory of political unionism that is encompasses the various economic, social and political roles of trade unions and their strategic capability in capturing gains for workers.I examine COSATUs political role by creating five analytical categories to study the federations' experience; a historical review of the Black trade union movement that led to the creation of COSATU, forming alliances with political parties and civil society, building institutions for tripartism and consultation with business and government, mass mobilisation and membership and finally, shaping economic policy. I find that most of COSATUs achievements resulted from the federation's ability to engage in and find the right balance between economic and political unionism and to engage in strategic unionism in either sphere. The federation's unique participatory and democratic shop steward system also facilitated worker militancy and cohesiveness. (cont.) The federation's unique participatory and democratic shop steward system also facilitated worker militancy and cohesiveness. The federation has failed and faces challenges to both membership and organisation because it has inadequately confronted the material conditions of capitalism which have resulted in structural issues such as the informalisation and casualisation of the work force. Political engagement has had costs for COSATU, the most significant of which have been the class mobility of unionists into government and the opportunism that comes with the possibility for class mobility. The union is also drawn into the internal politics of the ANC government and likewise has seen its own internal leadership battles affected by this relationship. The federation has also failed in being adequately strategic and independent in its relationship with the ANC and risks getting consumed and distracted from its strategic and tactical goals through cooptation by the ANC. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (v. 2, leaves 293-303). http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/46400 Credit policy, rural financial markets, and Nigeria's agricultural development by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Okonjo-Iweala, Ngozi Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1981. MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. Includes bibliographies. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/45673 Distorted and lower forms of capitalist industrial production in underdeveloped countries : contemporary artisan shops and workshops in Eskişehir and Gaziantep, Turkey. Bademli, Raĩit Raci Thesis. 1977. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. Bibliography: leaves 412-433.