RUBIN, MICHAEL STEVEN; PHD
 
                         UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, 1986
 
                         BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, MANAGEMENT (0454)
 

                         Statement of the Problem. Current theories of development do not adequately address the mediating
                         role of human agency in transforming social systems. In large part this results from the lack of a temporal
                         construct which links intermediate actions to longer term developmental ends. The thesis proposes an
                         alternative temporal framework, which is then evaluated and elaborated through an examination of
                         development projects. Procedure and Methods. The research was organized through a four-part
                         procedure. First, active participation in the analysis of six large scale development projects led to the
                         formulation of a number of propositions about the temporal structure and organization of these efforts
                         and their relationship to the wider social system and its further development. Second, a temporal
                         framework was developed to account for the observed patterns. An extensive literature search on
                         theories of mediation and time was conducted to assess the relevance of the framework. Third, the
                         projects were organized into formal case narratives through the use of extensive project ethnographies
                         and analyses of the divergence between expectations and actual events in the course of the project
                         engagements. Within-case analyses and Cross-case comparisons were employed in constructing and
                         assessing the project settings. Finally, the episodic framework was employed to provide an explanatory
                         account of transitions, modifications, conflicts and outcomes over the course of the project
                         engagements. Results. First, the episodic framework was shown to provide an enhanced account of the
                         organization and structuration of the development project. Second, a set of synthetic constructs was
                         introduced to relate the project organization to the wider social system and its longer term development
                         objectives. Finally, the problem of temporal inconsistency was revealed as a critical impediment to the
                         adoption and implementation of development projects. Conclusions. Through a discursive appreciation
                         of the episodic structure of the development project, these initiatives may be better designed, managed,
                         and more appropriately positioned within the social system. The thesis contributes to an understanding
                         of the mediation of development by providing a temporal construct which links intermediate actions to
                         longer term developmental ends.

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