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Mat, Som Ahmad Puad. "Community involvement in ecotourism." Thesis, University of Strathclyde, 2005. http://oleg.lib.strath.ac.uk:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=21565.
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Ecotourism is an amalgam of interests arising out of environmental, economic and social concerns. Over the last twenty years, it has assumed a global presence and has been acknowledged as a potential tool to improve sustainability by modifying human social behaviour in regard to environmental conservation. In other words, ecotourism incorporates a strong commitment to nature and a sense of social responsibility. There are examples of successful ecotourism ventures, which are making a real and significant contribution to conservation of the natural resources as well as the development of impoverished communities. Active involvement of communities in the planning process and in operations management is vital in order to achieve the development and conservation goals of ecotourism. However, these activities are extremely rare because they have generally been peripheral to tourism planning and management especially in developing countries. In light of the research needs in the above context, this research, which is exploratory in nature, attempts to examine the contribution of ecotourism to local community's livelihoods in rural areas in Malaysia by exploring local opportunities and limitations in the industry as well as evaluating the current practice and the potential for community participation in the planning process. In general, the study found that the level of local involvement in ecotourism in Malaysia is low because there are operational, structural and cultural limitations to community participation in tourism development process. The study also found that active local participation in planning is compounded by the technocratic planning system and highly centralised government structure. Therefore, this study suggests that the realisation of community ecotourism in Malaysia must overcome these two major impediments before it can successfully take place. As ecotourism research is relatively new and limited in Malaysia, the outcome of this study is believed to have expanded the existing body of knowledge on community participation in ecotourism and planning and have provided valuable insights into the practicality of this approach in Malaysia.
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Carballo-Sandoval, Arturo. "Community involvement in sustainable ecotourism." Thesis, University of Reading, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.250608.
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Yang, Rui. "Guanxi and corporate community involvement." Thesis, University of Bath, 2012. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.669018.
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This research investigates the relationship between guanxi and Corporate Community Involvement (CCI) in the Chinese business environment. The thesis provides valuable insights into the motivation and management of CCI in China where the institutional and cultural context is radically different from the Western contexts. This thesis also places CCI in the context of guanxi and thus bridges the literatures on CCI and guanxi. Strategic motivation and management of CCI has been studied extensively in the context of Western countries. However, the extant literature offers limited insights into the motivation and management of CCI in the Chinese business environment. The Chinese business environment is characterised by a comparatively poor legal system and weak property rights. In such an environment guanxi – a system of personal connections that carry long-term social obligations – are held to play a significant role in business relationships in China. Earlier studies have found that guanxi is able to influence a variety of corporate behaviours. Nevertheless, no attempt has been made to investigate how CCI may have been influenced by guanxi in China. This research develops a conceptual model and six propositions, which explain how CCI is strategically tailored to initiate guanxi, and furthermore, facilitate inter-organisational relationship development through such guanxi in China. Based on an empirical case analysis of 148 CCI projects from three types of company; foreign, state-owned, and private, this research explores the relationship between CCI and guanxi and tests the conceptual model and propositions. The empirical data was collected deploying face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with 65 companies (30 foreign companies, 9 state-owned companies, and 26 private companies) in China. The findings indicate that foreign companies’ and private companies’ CCI are motivated by guanxi development. Their CCI behaviours are strategically tailored to initiate guanxi with key stakeholders, and in particular with stakeholders who possess strong governmental backgrounds; and Chinese state-owned companies’ CCI behaviours are subject to little influence of guanxi development. While foreign companies used guanxi to facilitate their inter-organisational relationship development, private companies used guanxi to obtain formal institutional supports. From the findings, the conclusion is drawn that guanxi plays a significant role in motivating CCI engagement and shaping CCI behaviours in China, and, through such guanxi, CCI can be employed to facilitate inter-organisational relationship building and obtain formal institutional support.
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Shchory, Nili. "Community involvement in urban development." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.250004.
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The research deals with the development of participatory municipal democracy, with inter-communal relations, and with the relations between communities and the urban establishment regarding urban development in towns. The study analyses and examine the processes in which residents, members of a geographical community whose borders overlap the residential units in a town, and who are not elected or appointed by the authorities, can influence decisions relating to the policy, planning, and design of a town's urban space. Part I - Chapter 1 presents an overview of the paper. Chapter 2 positions the context of the research in the space and time in which Israeli society and its urban fabric have developed. Part II - presents the methodology and methods of the research. In Chapter 3, the theoretical framework of the study discusses issues like the geographical community, relation between civil society and the state, and new social, urban, and physical realities in a community. Chapter 4 presents the research objectives, the research questions, and the method of data collection applied in the study, such as the questionnaires administered to 73 heads of local authorities throughout Israel; questionnaires administered to 243 residents; interviews with some 20 experts and 11 players in the case-study analysis of 16 events of communal involvement that took place in 14 different local authorities; text analyses, and an analysis of urban plans. Part ill - presents in Chapter 5 a review of the field and general background of the Issue. Part IV - presents the current social context in Israel. Chapter 6 describes actual changes and events that influenced the issue, while Chapter 7 outlines the characteristics of community involvement. Part V - the case-study of Mevasseret Ziyyon is presented - displaying social action in urban development, with an analysis of community involvement and conflict in city planning. Chapter 8 provides the story of the place and the master-plan in conflict;Chapter 9 presents the context of the conflict. Chapter 10 presents the practical dimensions and dynamic of the conflict. Chapter 11 describes the dimension of human influence, and Chapter 12 shows the symbolic dimension of values, events, and interpretation of the community and establishment. Part VI - sets out the conclusions of the research. Chapter 13 presents the finding of the research, Chapter 14 the discussion while Chapter 15 the contribution of the study. The main fmdings show that, despite the importance attributed by the community and the establishment to communal involvement in urban development, there is a gap between the reality and what is aspired to. There is disparity between the declaration made by the mayors regarding the importance of community involvement, and what they actually do in this context. The civil culture of the community is not sufficiently developed and only a minority of the community residents (15%) is in fact involved. Community involvement takes place in two polar patterns of activity: conflict from 'below' when the community objects to the establishment, and cooperation from 'above' with the establishment. Cooperation was found to be the more successful optiol1.' At the community level, during a conflict about the master-plan of Mevasseret Ziyyon, the members of the elite the residing in the community appear to be at an advantage, due to their ability to recruit knowledge and information, and also because of their understanding of the 'language' of urban planning, in designing and planning space in a manner that accords with their values, beliefs and needs. The study can be seen from two points of view. The first, which relates to the construction of social reality, deals with the development of urban participatory democracy, and addresses issues such as education for democracy and active citizenship, and a fair dialogue with the community in terms of quality of life and the environment. The second relates to the construction of a physical reality, and deals with the design and plarming of the environment. It relates to issues such as learning and understanding interpretations of urban space, the design thereof, how the city will look, who will live in it and how, and what sense of place and quality of life those people will have.
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Vinton, Robert Deleon. "Migrant parent involvement: community, schools, & home." Diss., Manhattan, Kan. : Kansas State University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/576.
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Crites, Cynthia. "Parent and community involvement : a case study." Lynchburg, Va. : Liberty University, 2008. http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu.
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Hinchley, Andrew J. "Involvement in community gardens : sustaining the benefits." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2006. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/10307/.
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This study investigates the creation and management of community gardens. It explores the processes of community involvement associated with their development and the factors that influence personal involvement with a project. Relationships between place attachment and involvement are examined within this framework to.investigate common assumptions that relate feelings of attachment to pro-active behaviour. The research project was developed in collaboration with a community development organisation supporting neighbourhood regeneration in an area of Sheffield. This facilitated an in-depth field based approach encompassing participant observation, interviews and visualethnographic techniques. Investigation of three case study gardens reveals a complex framework of factors influencing involvement; incorporating relationships with place, personal values, social relationship and practical issues. The role of attachment to place is found to be important in the initiation of involvement, although differing in character from traditional concepts of place attachment. The process of community involvement is found to encourage strong feelings of place attachment among both those taking part and those simply observing. The role of this attachment in the continuation of involvement is less evident however, moderated by a range of more practical factors. The presence of a facilitating organisation in encouraging sustained involvement was a highly influential factor in the development and management of community gardens in this study. However, the consistency of support available from grant-reliant community organisations can vary and the research highlights the importance of securing long-term support mechanisms. Efficient facilitation, both at a group and neighbourhood level, is needed to ensure that the benefits community gardens provide to individuals and communities can be sustained.
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Kidney, Colleen Anne. "Involvement in the Online Autistic Community, Identity, Community, and Well-Being." PDXScholar, 2012. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/627.
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The values of the disability rights movement and community psychology promote research that focuses on improving the lives of individuals with disabilities (Dowrick & Keys, 2001). Using the Internet for social interactions has been shown to contribute to an individual's identity development, sense of community, and well-being (Obst, Zinkiewicz, & Smith, 2002a; Turkle, 1995). While challenges in typical social interactions have traditionally been considered a defining feature of autism spectrum disorder, autistic individuals have taken advantage of the Internet to develop social interactions (Blume, 1997a). The present study focused on the online Autistic community and how the importance and value of involvement in it is related to Autistic identity, sense of community, and psychological well-being. The Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education (AASPIRE) partnered with the Gernsbacher Lab to form the Gateway Project. Using the Gateway Project, AASPIRE conducted the Internet Use, Community, and Well-Being Study and collected data from 72 autistic adults online. It was hypothesized that the importance and value of involvement in the online Autistic community would be positively related to Autistic identity and sense of community, Autistic identity and sense of community would be positively related, and Autistic identity and sense of community would be positively related to psychological well-being. It was also hypothesized that the positive relationship between the importance and value of involvement in the online Autistic community and psychological well-being would be mediated by Autistic identity and sense of community. Correlations were examined among the hypothesized relationships, and a mediated regression model (Baron & Kenny, 1986) was used to explore the relationship between the importance and value of involvement in the online Autistic community and psychological well-being with Autistic identity and sense of community as mediators. Significant relationships were found between the importance and value of involvement in the online Autistic community and Autistic identity, between the importance and value of involvement in the online Autistic community and sense of community, and between autistic identity and sense of community. As a first step to test the mediated regression models, psychological well-being was regressed on the importance and value of involvement in the online Autistic community. The regression was not significant; therefore the hypothesized model was not significant. Despite non-significant mediated regression model results, significant relationships among the importance and value of involvement in the online Autistic community and Autistic identity and sense of community offer important results. These finding illuminate the potential positive impact of the importance and value of involvement in the online Autistic community, including evidence counter to the myth that autistic individuals lack skills necessary for social relationships. These findings support the positive utility of involvement in the online Autistic community for autistic adults. Further research with a larger sample size is recommended, due to low power coefficients in the analyses. Additional research may also further illuminate the findings of the current study. Possible topics may include sense of community and Autistic identity in individuals that do not use the Internet, differences in the way the Internet is used in autistic individuals, and different measures of involvement in the online Autistic community and well-being.
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Tashi, Sonam. "School-community partnerships: Bhutanese principals' impact on community involvement in schools." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2022. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/233666/1/Sonam_Tashi_Thesis.pdf.
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This study investigated the effect of School-Community Partnerships model for school improvement in Bhutan, and the challenges faced by both schools and communities in relation to the implementation of the policies and programs on democratic governance. Using qualitative methodology the study collected data from school and community leaders to understand how SCP may support the transition to new democratic leadership. The findings indicate a complex mix of variables such as, complementarity of national and school level leadership, cultural sensitivity and, empowerment and accountability which have capacity to strengthen SCP and thus require significant capacity development by the government.
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Cochrane, Phoebe. "Community involvement in woodlands : governance and social benefits." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/3271.
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This study explores the social benefits resulting from community involvement in forestry in Scotland. Social benefits have been claimed and reported but a review of literature identified a need for further exploration to qualify them in nature and extent. A novel appraisal approach was also developed as part of this study to explore the context in which benefits are delivered and identify the factors and mechanisms instrumental in the delivery process. The research used a case study approach focussing on the Scottish Borders. It included a scoping phase involving semi-structured interviews to gain an understanding of the forestry sector and explore the wider context in which forestry operates. This phase informed the methodological strand of the study by feeding into the development of the appraisal approach and the design of the second empirical phase in which social benefits were investigated through a detailed study of four initiatives. Qualitative and quantitative information was collected through semi-structured interviews and local surveys. The main findings relate to the nature and distribution of social benefits and an understanding of the processes by which they are delivered. For example, social capital building was found nearly exclusively amongst those with direct contact with the projects. Other benefits, such as feelings of increased belonging or connection with their area, were experienced more widely and could result from the mere knowledge of the existence of the community initiative. The governance structures and institutions involved and the nature of the local community and area were found to be important and interrelating elements in the process by which benefits are experienced. Current forestry policy supports community involvement as a rural development mechanism, and the study findings provide insight in to the circumstances under which, and manner in which, community involvement should be facilitated for maximum gain. For example, the nature of the community and levels of existing community cohesion have implications for the role of external agencies; activities and events were found to be very important in attracting people to the woods who might not otherwise visit; and the capacity for the woods to be a forum through which interests in local biodiversity, history and arts are explored and expressed was found to be valuable.
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Uyan-Atay, Bilge. "Corporate community involvement activities : new evidence for Turkey." Thesis, University of Bath, 2012. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.558867.
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Recognition that corporations are embedded within societies is playing an increasingly significant role in shaping strategic decision making in modern business organisations. Corporate community involvement (CCI) is becoming an increasingly salient aspect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and encompasses a diverse range of activities from philanthropic giving and employee volunteerism to cause related marketing and sponsorship, and supports a range of community needs from education and welfare to cultural and artistic development. As such it provides an ideal focus for exploring the economic, strategic, cultural and institutional influences on CCI. This thesis presents the first systematic analysis of CCI behaviours in Turkey. Turkey, as a secular, developing, largely Moslem country with a growing economy, provides a comparative research context that is culturally, economically and institutionally distinct from other environments within which CCI has been studied. A conceptual model has been developed based on the application of the behavioural theory of the firm. The model engenders the studies which aim to explain the situation of CCI in an institutional, cultural, and national context and through the CCI model, it is expected that the multicultural and complex characteristics of the CCI phenomenon can be understood. The findings suggest that shareholder/investors and community groups positively affect the companies in taking the decision to engage in CCI. The documented relationship between CCI, ownership type, and other firm characteristics also had important implications. This study finds that larger firms are more likely and smaller firms less likely to become involved in CCI activities. Local Turkish companies are keener to contribute large amounts in corporate giving than foreign ones. There is a strong orientation of CCI in Turkey to projects concerned with education, healthcare and the arts. The three common exclusions are politics, religion and animal rights. The majority of CCI expenditures in Turkey took the form of sponsorships. Engaging in CCI under a CSR department is not thepreferred choice in Turkey usually the companies wants to engage in their CCI activities under other business functions. The companies generally separate their philanthropic and sponsorhip activities from each other. Key types of CCI such as employee volunteerism, cash resources or gifts-in-kind, are undertaken under the auspices of these philantrophy and sponsorship and considered to be resources allocated to engage in these types of CCI. This thesis fills the gaps in the existing literature with respect to the lack of conceptual and empirical studies about the necessity of investigating the topic of CCI from a holistic perspective; the necessity of application of other theory(ies) which are able to describe the whole CCI situation instead of describing it piecemeal, and the necessity of discovering different institutional contexts because existing research is geographically narrowly drawn and usually concentrated in the U.S and Western Europe. The thesis is structured to fill these gaps and the contributions are made based on the lacks of the existing studies on CCI.
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Price, Darren Anthony. "Community involvement in the design of social housing." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2003. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/14747/.
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The literature shows that there is much value placed in community involvement in the design of new social housing schemes, but little in the way of conclusive proof that it is effective. It was decided to establish the built effect of this involvement - did it make a difference to the houses? The research incorporates both qualitative and quantitative elements. A questionnaire survey of all developing housing associations was used to establish the current situation and four case study developments were selected and investigated in detail. The case studies were similarly sized housing developments located in London, Birmingham, Sheffield and Sunderland The survey shows that housing associations are involving tenants in a variety of ways. The predominant picture is one of participation in the latter stages of the design process, in the selection of the fixtures and fittings. There is also significant use of post occupancy surveys with results feeding into the housing associations' design briefs. There are no significant regional differences in approach but the size of association does appear to affect the community involvement techniques adopted, as does the procurement of the development site. Larger landlords use more involvement techniques and do so earlier in the process. The four case study developments show similarities in the pattern of the community involvement. Two types of involvement were isolated, and these are termed generic and specific. The former being where representative tenants are used to develop design briefs that are used in the development of all schemes, and the latter where the community is involved in the design of its own built environment. Overall the effect of involvement on the houses produced is small, with other factors in the development process being more significant; yet the processes isolated are associated with some built changes and these are unlikely to have been made independently of tenants' views.
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Yahn, Nancy Stiles. "A study to examine community involvement in major U.S.military base closures and realignments from 1988 to 2001." Texas A&M University, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/2640.
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This study examines community involvement in major U.S. military base
closures and realignments from 1988 to 2001. There were four waves of base closures
during this time. They were in 1988, 1991, 1993, and 1995. Community involvement
became an important criterion in the reuse decisions for the closed bases.
The methods used in this study are the literature review, a questionnaire with
analysis and three case studies. The literature review looks at the subject of community
involvement in general and community involvement in connection with closed military
bases.
The questionnaire was sent to 107 closed bases with fifty one base
representatives responding. The contents of the completed questionnaires were analyzed
for community involvement both during the base closure phase and the reuse phase.
There are three analyses based on community involvement plus a description of the
involvement techniques used. The first analysis uses the Community Involvement
Analysis. The results of this analysis were as follows. Community satisfaction depended
upon the community elements. In the next analysis, the Representation Analysis, community satisfaction depended upon the amount of representation and time of
representation. The regression analysis also showed that amount of representation and
time of representation to be optimum. The third analysis, the Involvement Analysis uses
the type and amount of community involvement, the amount of representation and the
time for representation for the analysis. The results were that the best model was the
type and amount of community involvement and amount of representation.
In addition, participation methods employed by the base redevelopment agencies
were described. Strategic planning was the overall method of community involvement
used and multiple involvement methods were used in that framework.
Finally, three bases were identified in the questionnaire as candidates for further
study and discussed in the study. They were Naval Air Station Cecil Field in
Jacksonville, Florida, Glenview Naval Air Station in Glenview, Illinois and Bayonne
Military Ocean Terminal in Bayonne, New Jersey. The study of these bases provided
more information on the base closure process.
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Tosun, Cevat. "Local community participation in the tourism development process : the case of Urgup, Turkey." Thesis, University of Strathclyde, 1998. http://oleg.lib.strath.ac.uk:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=21319.
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This research was an attempt to understand the concept of community participation as a tourism development approach. Four main objectives were established; 1) to examine the current practice of, and potential for community participation in the tourism development process in Urgup, 2) to determine views of interest groups on various issues of community participation, 3) to explore the expectations of the local community from the tourism development; and 4) to develop policy suggestions to facilitate community participation in the tourism development process (TDP). This study has adopted an inductive research approach, rather than a deductive one. The pre-determined research objectives have led and structured the study. Both theoretical discussions and empirical field research are employed to achieve the pre-determined objectives of the study. Several general conclusions are drawn from this study: 1) There is a theoretical gap in the knowledge of participatory tourism development which may be closed from an understanding gained in other community participation areas such as health, housing, etc. 2) Many local tourist destinations are at different levels of development; thus, it may be naive to claim that one form of participatory tourism development approach will provide a universal model. 3) This study has revealed that there are three main groups of limitations to the participatory tourism development approach. These limitations can be classified as operational limitations, structural limitations and cultural limitations. 4) Implementation of a participatory tourism development approach requires the re-structuring of the public administration system, and re-distribution of power and wealth, for which hard political choices and logical decisions are a sine qua non. 5) Adoption of contemporary approaches to tourism development emerged and refined in developed countries is not a panacea for poor planning in developing countries that do not have the basis of the pre-industrial phase experienced last century in Europe and North America. Thus, a cautionary approach is needed to follow what developed countries are doing in the context of tourism development.
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Gwama, Mzwandile Sebastian. "Identifying drivers of corporate social responsibility for community involvement." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/6597.
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Organisations operate under unpredictable business environments. These business environments can be classified into internal and external environments. The decision taken by organisations to allocate resources for CSR depends on business environments. Organisations have no control of external business environments. Global financial crisis is an example of an external business environment of which organisations have no control over. The event in the business environments can influence the organisation to review its CSR operations. The beneficiaries of the organisation's CSR program get affected by such decision reviews and face even bigger challenges.
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Holmström, Helena. "Community-based customer involvement for improving packaged software development /." Göteborg : Department of Informatics, Univ, 2004. http://www.handels.gu.se/epc/archive/00004060/01/Holmstrom.pdf.
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Ibrahim, Zainah. "Urban conservation : a framework for community involvement in Malaysia." Thesis, Sheffield Hallam University, 2007. http://shura.shu.ac.uk/19853/.
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Whilst interest in conservation planning in Malaysia is growing, there is evidence that it contains several deficiencies, including the commitment and resources to support effective community involvement. This research investigates the underlying factors that contribute to these deficiencies in the system and aims to develop principles to be taken forward for application in a practice-oriented framework, drawn from a critical analysis of the relationships between best practice, as identified through the literature and contemporary practice in Malaysia, as identified through the empirical work. The research examines various examples of community involvement practice from selected developed countries, including the United Kingdom. This suggested a framework of community involvement best practice, which would achieve sustainable conservation results. The current community involvement approach practice in Malaysia (using the Case Study of Historical City of Malacca) was compared to this suggested framework. This comparison to best practice with Malaysia's present practice demonstrates, quite clearly, the vital need for an involvement framework in Malaysia to be improved to make the current practice and provisions more effective. The findings proved that the present process is inefficient. It lacks systematic techniques, adequate communication and awareness. Additionally, there is an imbalance of power and control which requires better coordination and collaboration between both stakeholder organisations (all levels of government, i.e. federal, state and local, as well as private and NGOs) and the communities. The summary of findings from both the authorities and communities was compared and arranged towards a concluding reconciliation of perspectives. This led to the proposed framework for community involvement based on the lessons of best practices explored for the improvement to the present conservation system. The recommended practice-oriented framework comprises of its key principles to guide the reform process and highlights on six main elements, i.e. the emphasis on community focus; policy and approach; involvement and consultation stages; process and procedures; consultation methods; and evaluation and monitoring. The implementation of the framework requires investment in terms of resources, as well as related education and awareness programmes to help secure its success.
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Samuel, Suzanne. "Adult community learning participation and parental involvement in schooling." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2017. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/110489/.
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The argument that adult community learning (ACL) participation plays a part in influencing parents’ perceptions and practices with respect to schooling children is appealing but there is little evidence to show whether this is the case and, if so, what form it takes. Statistical studies have revealed mixed findings, ranging from no impact to some changes in behaviour when parents study at university. Yet, the mechanisms by which this process occurs are little understood. Considering the varied findings, this qualitative study aims to explore the nature and extent of ACL, and its influence on parents and children. Drawing on adult education theory and Bourdieu’s concept of ‘capital’, the study focuses on examples of parental ACL participation in Wales. Findings suggest that whilst all parents want the best for their children, some parents struggle to provide support, especially at secondary education stage. Parents typically draw upon a range of support mechanisms; they refer to the school, family and friends, the internet, work and volunteering, as well as hiring private tutors. Moreover, parents participating in multiple episodes of ACL, especially at the higher levels, draw upon and utilise their knowledge, skills, and resources to provide timely and effective support; this prevents slippage in the educational sense. Also, findings suggest that ACL participation stimulates and, in some cases, boosts children’s learning. In contrast, parents with low-level qualifications and parents who engage in fewer episodes of ACL, invariably have a far limited range of resources to call upon. Here, parents tend to rely heavily upon the school, family members, the internet, and if finances allow, private tutors. Consequently, when support is delayed or ineffective, this increases the risk of children falling behind at school. However, a solution to create a mutual mechanism of support in the home learning environment is put forward to overcome the problem.
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Greene, Amanda E. "Fit Kids Program involvement in community, Johnson City, TN." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2008. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/4961.
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Sotlar, Clouse Lenora. "Dynamics of Trust and Faculty Involvement in Community College." ScholarWorks, 2019. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7753.
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The complex dynamics of the phenomenon of trust, defined as a psychological state where one is willing to accept vulnerability based upon the positive expectations of a specific other or others, and the influence trust has on faculty involvement in institutional decision-making were explored in this case study. Faculty involvement is a key element of institutional success, yet many faculty at community colleges are not satisfied with their involvement or choose to remain uninvolved. Although researchers have established a substantial body of research on trust in organizations, a gap remains regarding the role trust plays in community college faculty involvement in key decision-making. The purpose of the current research was to address this gap by exploring the faculty experience of trust within the context of the unique social structure of 1 specific community college. The research question prompted an exploration of 1 specific college’s complex social and organizational structures by examining organizational charts and documents, while semistructured interviews with a purposeful sampling of 20 faculty members allowed for insight into the unique perspectives of community college faculty. Data were analyzed using the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method looking for emergent themes. It was indicated that trust dynamics play a role in faculty involvement in decision-making. Themes emerged that support 3 types of trust and 5 facets of trust that are part of the faculty experience within the specific case. Results can be used to contribute to positive social change by influencing continuous improvement efforts in higher education, improving institutional effectiveness.
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Case, Amy Hurst. "Parental Involvement Typologies in Rural Community Schools: A Qualitative Investigation." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2009. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1850.
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There are a number of pressing issues facing today's educational society. Among the most controversial is the research and information surrounding the perceived positive or negative effects of parental involvement and barriers that restrict parental involvement. The purpose of this study was to examine 6 parental involvement typologies and their use and existence in 3 East Tennessee elementary schools. The Epstein (1987) typologies were used to classify parent involvement modalities. Parents who had a child enrolled in the 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade during the 2007-2008 school year were interviewed. The interviews followed an open-ended interview guide and the research is qualitative in nature.
Research findings in this study were consistent with findings from a number of previous parental involvement studies. Research participants displayed an appreciation for the educational process and voiced strong opinions on parenting, communication, volunteering, decision-making, learning at home, and collaboration with the community. Barriers to parental involvement practices were addressed as were suggestions for improved parental involvement opportunities and modalities.
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Tomlinson, Rewa Helen. "Community development in El Mirador, Nicaragua, post Hurricane Mitch: NGO involvement and community cohesion." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Geography, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/1336.
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In October of 1998 the category 5 storm, Hurricane Mitch, struck Nicaragua, leaving in its wake mass destruction and devastation. Numerous aid agencies and social organisations poured funds into the country to assist in emergency disaster relief efforts, and to rebuild the lives of those who lost their homes and livelihoods (damnificados). El Mirador in the city of Matagalpa is one example of the many communities built with aid monies after Hurricane Mitch. This thesis uses qualitative data constructed from in-depth interviews with participants (community members in El Mirador) to understand the level of successful community development that has been achieved, the ability for longer term sustainability as a result of community development strategies, and the areas in which community development has failed. Through an examination of the relationship the community has with the NGO the Communal Movement, the question of long term sustainability becomes important. The most telling indicator (that development practice is unsustainable) is the unproductive coping mechanisms of community members as aid and social organisations withdraw leaving members with ineffective social networks and at times uncooperative behaviour. Added into this is the arrival of new members into the community, and squatters, who have only added to the feelings of segregation already apparent, as a 'them and us' mentality develops. This study provides a detailed case specific analysis of community development through disaster relief efforts. It highlights some of the consistent, broad inefficiencies as well as more location and situation specific difficulties of community development. Moreover, it adds to the growing body of literature researching how disaster relief can become more effective and sustainable in the longer term.
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Armstrong, Todd. ""Celebrating community knowledge: Encouraging involvement, achieving ownership and building confidence through comprehensive community consultation"." School of Native Human Services, 2000. http://142.51.24.159/dspace/handle/10219/447.
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Pauktuutit Inuit Women's Association of Canada has demonstrated a historical commitment to addressing health care issues among Inuit communities, and HIV/AIDS is no exception. Since the story of Leetia Geetah, the first Inuk woman diagnosed with HIV, hit the news in 1988, Pauktuutit has been increasingly involved in HIV/AIDS issues.
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Munsamy, J. "Community engagement at CUT and its involvement in sustainable development." Interim : Interdisciplinary Journal, Vol 13, Issue 2: Central University of Technology Free State Bloemfontein, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/11462/303.
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Published ArticleIncreasingly universities are being expected to address community engagement and sustainable development as inherent characteristics of its daily operations, as well as its academic endeavour. In many cases it necessitates a change in the approach of academics and university managers with respect to their interactions with students and academic matters. This article addresses these matters with respect to Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT). In particular the interaction between the teaching and learning, research and service provision as substantial elements of the 21st century academic enterprise is indicated and discussed.
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LeSure, Danielle L. "Informal mayoral involvement in education." Diss., Connect to online resource - MSU authorized users, 2008.
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Sullivan, Helen Cecilia. "Community governance : an evaluation of area approaches in Birmingham." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.366382.
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Steenson, Michael Allen. "Voices from our beaches: an investigation into community involvement in New Zealand coastal management." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Geography, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/9278.
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This thesis argues the case of community involvement in coastal management in New Zealand. It takes as its starting point objective six of the New Zealand Coastal Policy Statement (2010). Which it is suggested, frames the issue on community involvement in specific but rather limited ways. The thesis examines the potential for community-based management in two contrasting places, namely Kaikoura and Waiheke Island.
Not only are these within different Regional Council jurisdictions, but they also have different community profiles. Kaikoura is a small rural town with a strong Maori presence in coastal management. Waiheke Island is a more mono-cultural, but rapidly growing island well within wider metropolitan Auckland.
Using three research questions the thesis explores existing methods of community-based management in these two places and considers the extent to which these are effective and might also give insight into how objective six could be more appropriately constructed in order to mobilise voices from our beaches.
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Haffey, James L. "Level of involvement among Mississippi community college workforce personnel in community and economic development activities." Diss., Mississippi State : Mississippi State University, 2007. http://library.msstate.edu/etd/show.asp?etd=etd-11092007-111629.
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Tsang, Meiling. "The impact of community involvement on secondary school students' learning." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2007. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B40039948.
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Tsang, Meiling, and 曾美玲. "The impact of community involvement on secondary school students' learning." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2007. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B40039948.
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Nikolic, Sara Jean. "Impacts of state involvement on community-based collaborative watershed management." The Ohio State University, 2005. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1302878911.
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Longchit, Chootima. "Community leaders' knowledge and perceptions toward ecotourism and community involvement in Ban Kram community, Rayong, Thailand a qualitative study /." Online version, 1998. http://www.uwstout.edu/lib/thesis/1998/1998longchitc.pdf.
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Butler, Elizabeth A. "Community involvement and economic reality a case study of the community and economic revitalization of Allentown /." Instructions for remote access. Click here to access this electronic resource. Access available to Kutztown University faculty, staff, and students only, 1997. http://www.kutztown.edu/library/services/remote_access.asp.
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Thesis (M.P.A.)--Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, 1997.Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2935. Abstract precedes thesis as preliminary leaves 2-3. Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-131).
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Evans, Michael Pier. "Inside Education Organizing: Learning to Work for Educational Change." Thesis, Boston College, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/641.
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Thesis advisor: Dennis L. ShirleyOver the past fifteen years there has been a growing scholarly interest in education issues among community based organizations (CBOs). Education organizing is the mobilization of parents and community members for the purpose of transforming schools and CBOs have already demonstrated their ability to impact both student outcomes and educational policy (Shirley, 1997). The Annenberg Institute found that "successful organizing strategies contributed to increased student attendance, improved standardized test score performance, higher graduation rates and college-going aspirations" (Mediratta, Shah, & McAlister, 2008 ). While an increasing number of researchers are exploring this phenomenon, we know little about the experiences of CBOs members who are engaged in this work. Utilizing a qualitative case study approach and a conceptual framework that draws from situated learning, social capital, and networking theory, this study explored the following questions as they relate to the experiences of members in three different CBOs: * What motivates families to participate in CBOs involved in education organizing? * How do members learn the work of education organizing? What skills (if any) are acquired as both individuals and as a collective, and how are they developed? * What impact (both material and personal) does participation have on CBO members' lives? Findings from this study revealed that participation in the process of education organizing has the potential to not only transform schools, but the participants themselves. Initial understandings of self-interest evolved to include broader social concerns. Members reported increases in confidence, desire, and ability to fully participate in democratic processes. The findings also indicated that the effectiveness of a CBO is related to its organizational structure, its members' capacity for learning, the types of issues that members are trying to address, and the strength of their relationships within local civic ecologies. Those groups that were able to operate in diverse networks while developing the necessary technological, political, and cultural knowledge generally met with the most success
Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009
Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education
Discipline: Teacher Education, Special Education, Curriculum and Instruction
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Kidney, Colleen Anne. "Rethinking Autism, Communication, and Community Involvement: Exploring Involvement in Online Communities, Communication Preference, Autistic Identity, and Self-Determination." PDXScholar, 2015. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/2224.
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Autistic individuals experience marginalization and stigmatization, and are often not connected to mainstream services or organizations fostering peer relationships (Boundy, 2008; Jaarsma & Welin, 2012; Robertson, 2010). Therefore, the accomplishments of the online Autistic community in building a community for self-advocacy, peer-support, friendships, and identity development (Brownlow & O'Dell, 2006; Kidney, 2012) are important to recognize, empirically examine, and promote (Blume, 1997a; Davidson, 2008). Utilizing a community-based participatory research approach (CBPR; Israel, Schulz, Parker, & Becker, 1998) the Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education (AASPIRE; www.aaspire.org) conducted the AASPIRE Internet Use, Community, and Well-Being Study, and collected data from 151 autistic adults and 173 non-autistic adults. The current study utilized data from the AASPIRE Internet Use, Community, and Well-Being Study on involvement in the online Autistic community, communication preferences, Autistic identity, and self-determination. The aims and rationale for the study were to contribute to the small body of quantitative literature on the online Autistic community, including expanding on findings that support positive outcomes of involvement in the online Autistic community (Kidney, 2012), and whether communication preference influences the relationships. The study also sought to examine the fit of an integrated model of associations among involvement in the online Autistic community, Autistic Identity, and self-determination in autistic adults who do and do not prefer online communication. Additionally, the study aimed to promote positive Autistic research and the voices of autistic participants and CBPR partners by challenging common misperceptions about autistic individuals and community/social interactions, understand the impact of communication preference, and inform policy and education designed for autistic individuals.
The study used data to develop a multi-dimensional construct of involvement in the online community as well as explore the Autistic Identity Scale. The main findings included positive relationships between involvement in the online Autistic community and Autistic identity (r=.33, p<.01), as well as between involvement and self-determination (r=.38, p<.01) in autistic adults. Exploratory analyses yielded mixed results in the cross-sectional sample that was relatively limited in demographic diversity and small considering the number and type of analyses (n=324). Main findings include no moderating impact of preference to communicate online or population type (autistic or non-autistic) on the significant relationships between (1) involvement in the online community and self-determination or (2) involvement in the online community and Autistic identity. However, exploring the relationships among the variables with structural equation modeling, analyses indicated that no significant relationship exists between involvement in the online Autistic community and self-determination in autistic adults who do not prefer online communication.
Findings indicate the need for further research on the complex impact of communication preference in larger samples of autistic adults. Despite sample limitations and mixed results from exploratory analyses, the findings mostly support the associations of involvement in the online Autistic community with Autistic identity and self-determination. The discussion addresses implications of the findings for theory, research, and action. For example, findings may influence how autistic individuals are provided education about and access to new media for fostering community, or lead to the development of online interventions or techniques for the promotion of positive outcomes in autistic individuals.
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Woods, Jackie R. Witte James E. "An investigation of two-year community college students' involvement in extracurricular activities." Auburn, Ala., 2007. http://repo.lib.auburn.edu/2007%20Fall%20Dissertations/WOODS_JACKIE_56.pdf.
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Howell, J. "An analysis of the involvement of community nurses in clinical governance." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.652633.
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The introduction of clinical governance requires that community nurses participate in the development of corporate accountability for clinical performance, accounting for normality as well as exceptional events in practice. The ability to deal with change has become a necessary part of the community nursing role, a factor complicated by the geographical spread and stratification of community nursing teams. If the development of clinical governance is to avoid domination by medical or managerial perspectives, each staff group is required to represent their standpoint. This is a study of the enacted narrative in the community context, to understand how nurses narrate and justify their involvement in these reforms and, to examine the development of a negotiated consensus by community nursing teams. A research approach within the social constructionist tradition informed by Burke’s (1969) dramatist pentad was used to explore and interpret the respondents’ accounts. Narratives of clinical governance were obtained from unstructured interviews with twenty staff, including district nurses and managers in two NHS trusts. The study findings suggested the continuing penetration of nursing practice by management systems, and associated hybridisation of nursing and management roles. Nursing governance is enacted through clinical audit and standard setting systems, building on the history of nursing involvement in these initiatives to develop a nursing consensus on the governance of nursing practice. The majority of nurses are presented as disengaged from these events, with the resultant nursing governance systems underpinned by an apparent rather than actual consensus. The uncertainty of the community nursing knowledge base in the face of clinical governance is illustrated, with practitioners reliant on rationalities drawn from managerial and evidence based logics. It is argued that the marginalisation of the nursing perspective by nursing governance systems, may result in a failure of the profession to develop the dialectical skills and articulacy required to present the nursing perspective in this and future developments. Difficulties arising from the way in which clinical governance is being developed are identified. The findings suggest the requirement of a revised approach to the management of nurses, enabling the explicit inclusion of the nursing majority in future policy implementation.
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Oluyole, Alexander Bolarinwa. "Community involvement and needs assessment in primary health care in Nigeria." Thesis, Keele University, 1995. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.261479.
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Yekini, Cecilia Olukemi. "Corporate community involvement disclosure : an evaluation of the motivation & reality." Thesis, De Montfort University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/2086/6910.
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This study focused on Corporate Community Involvement Disclosures (CCID), a theme usually disclosed under Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosures (CSRD) in annual reports. The primary aim of the research is to investigate the genuineness and raison d'être of CCID in annual reports. To do this the researcher adopted a holistic approach employing an extensive theoretical framework, which integrates Legitimacy, Stakeholder, Agency, Signalling and Semiotics theories and asking three main research questions. Firstly, what are the motivations for CCID in annual reports? Secondly, what is the information content of CCID in annual reports? And lastly, how real is CCID in annual reports? That is can CCID be read and construed as a real measure of corporate community development (CCD)? Using content analysis and a quality score index the study examined a panel dataset covering the period from 1999 to 2009. The data was collected from a sample of 803 annual reports of 73 UK companies taken from the FTSE 350 companies and cutting across all ten industries of the Industrial Classification Benchmark (ICB) Index. Generally the study is more of a quantitative study with hypotheses developed and tested with panel data regression models in order to provide answers to the three research questions. However, due to the sensitivity of the third research question, in addition to panel regression, the researcher performed a qualitative analysis of question three using semiotics. The study provided evidence to show that CCID as disclosed in annual reports have an undertone of reputation/impression management like other CSR disclosures (CSRD). The community activities reported do not seem to address the expectations of the local communities per se; rather the disclosures seemed to be targeted at a wider stakeholder group that is likely to offer immediate reward for such disclosures. Similarly result from semiotic analysis revealed that signification of reality is either doubtful or unreal for most companies sampled. The study is unique as it is the first to explore the reality of CCID as it appears in annual reports using a combination of a panel study approach and semiotics. In addition a major contribution of the study is that it explored the ways in which multiple theoretical underpinnings can inform research by developing a CCID Meta-theory model and thus provided a robust and enriched analysis and unique insights into the CCID phenomenon.
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Sizelove, Dennis. "An investigation of psychological factors associated with religious involvement /." Auburn, Ala., 2007. http://repo.lib.auburn.edu/07M%20Dissertations/SIZELOVE_DENNIS_24.pdf.
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Chu, Poh Yoke. "Parent practices of co-play in a community playgroup." Master's thesis, Australian Catholic University, 2021. https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/download/01ee2c226f290f176d544d9ae4da555f8ba8ae4515beaaa39a97752d65ece4f0/2496439/Chu_2021_Parent_practices_of_co-play_in.pdf.
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Playgroups are a universal form of early childhood provision that offer opportunities for families to learn and develop through informal play activities and social interaction. Parents are supported in their role by trained playgroup coordinators at supported playgroups who also organise play activities for children’s learning. Community playgroups are self-managed and run by the attending parents. Families voluntarily attend community playgroups, and parents remain on-site with their children throughout the session each week. Despite the parents’ key involvement, little is known about parents’ practices of co-play in community playgroups. This thesis is a study of parents’ co-play practices in a community playgroup. The aim of the study is to identify what parents’ co-play practices are, and the factors that enabled and constrained their practices. Using an ethnographic methodology, field observations and informal interviews were conducted with six parents in one community playgroup located in metropolitan Melbourne, in relation to their co-play practices. Framed by the practice architectures theory (Kemmis & Grootenboer, 2008), this study investigated the parents’ sayings, doings and relatings to uncover the co-play practices, and the enablers and constraints on those practices. The findings identified the parents’ guiding and participating co-play practices, and that those practices were enabled and constrained by the practice architectures of cultural-discursive, material-economic and social-political arrangements such as the parents’ knowledge about their child’s likes or dislikes, the toys provided at the community playgroup, and the parents’ beliefs about their role. The study’s findings theorised that the parents’ sayings, doings and relatings enacted different combinations of co-play practices that described the parents’ involvement with their children’s play in the community playgroup. This study thus contributes knowledge towards how parents are involved with their child’s play in community playgroups, which may be used as suggestions to increase parents’ involvement with children’s play.
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Masha, Ben Maphoke. "The role of school management teams and parents in learner achievement." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/62883.
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Research supports that many studies conducted across the country and internationally, acknowledge the positive effects of parental interest in learner academic achievement. The research findings reveals that no study about the role of SMTs and parents in enhancing learner academic achievement has been conducted in rural secondary schools of Sekhukhune Limpopo Province. Further inquiry discovered that studies conducted nationally and internationally focused only on parent participation in elementary schools to improve reading, composition, and cognitive powers of primary school children. Epstein (2011) posits that parental involvement diminishes as the child moves on to secondary school level. The intent of this study through qualitative case-study research explored and analysed the role SMTs and parents play in Sekhukhune District Limpopo Province in enhancing learners’ academic achievement. Five parents of Grade 8-12 learners and 3 SMT members participated from each of the six public secondary schools of Sekhukhune Limpopo province in the inquiry procedure. Principals regards parental engagement in education as interfering with school programmes. This work explored and examined how SMTs and parents collaborate and interact to improve learner academic achievement in rural public secondary schools of the Sekhukhune Limpopo Province. Knowledge of the concept parent involvement; encouraging positive parenting skills; enhancing communication with families; increasing volunteerism at school encouraging learning at home; increasing the number of parents in leadership and decision-making roles; improving community collaboration; capacitating parents and teachers with legislation and laws and dealing with barriers prohibiting effective involvement were some of the themes that evolved from the findings of this study. The implications point to the urgent need for proper training of the school management team for the efficient involvement of parents of children in rural areas, as this will enhance learner achievement. This research highlights the importance of collaboration between all stakeholders to establish a shared vision in order to improve learner academic achievement.Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2017.
Education Management and Policy Studies
MEd
Unrestricted
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Ellen, Debbie. "Telecentres and the provision of community based access to electronic information in everyday life." Thesis, Manchester Metropolitan University, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.311036.
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Nickels, Lindsay K. "Stakeholders' Perceptions of Community Engagement in a System-Wide Educational Change Effort: Implications for Building Partnerships." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2007. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2131.
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This qualitative study should provide insight into stakeholders' perceptions of a system-wide educational partnership focused on a change effort to increase student achievement in a school system located in a large, metropolitan city in the southeastern United States. The importance of partnering to assure that all children are succeeding in school has never been more important to local communities and our nation. Not only are definitions of educational partnerships expanding, but so are the parameters, the players, and the structures. As educational improvement initiatives are put into effect by local, state, and national governments, schools across the country are realizing the need for local action. Some of the many successful school systems in our nation have implemented more than parent involvement; they have created a collaborative school-community partnership.
Through investigation of surveys and interviews administered to the stakeholders of a partnership that has only been in existence for 2 years, this case study was designed to identify similarities and differences in the stakeholders' perceptions regarding their respective roles in the partnership, in improving student outcomes, and in the desired future state of this particular school system and partnership. Findings from this study confirm that there are both similarities and differences in all stakeholders' perceptions about most aspects of the partnership. In addition, many of the study's participants have changed their perceptions of the partnership over the 2 years of its existence and the challenges facing education. Finally, challenges and barriers of this partnership were identified. Differences in perceptions regarding the vision, mission, goals, action plans, and measures exist between school system personnel, school board members, and the partnership.
This study focused on the implications of building partnerships and provides a section detailing recommendations and lessons learned from the process for this particular partnership as well as recommendations for future partnerships. This study might be of interest to stakeholders who are presently involved in a similar collaborative change effort or serve as a guide for other school systems that wish to replicate this type of school-community partnership.
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Morillo-Campbell, Milagros. "Examining School, Family, and Community Partnerships Among Hispanic Parents: An Ethnography of Transformation." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/215412.
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This dissertation study examined school, family, and community partnerships among Hispanic parents whose children were enrolled in a school district’s Migrant Education Program (MEP). I was guided by the following main question: What issues do parents discuss regarding school, family, and community partnerships? Data were collected from interviews, artifacts, and field notes. Participant observation was conducted at the Parent Advisory Council (PAC) meetings and at The Bridge, a clothing distribution program. Findings that emerged from the research demonstrated that the PAC meetings provided a setting where parents created and developed their social networks and became empowered. The parents who informed this study perceived their role in their children’s education as one where parent advocacy was central to the partnerships between families, schools, and communities. With the assistance and collaboration from the MEP, parent volunteers developed The Bridge, first established to assist school families in meeting their children’s basic needs; it later became a central location for local knowledge, social networks, and funds of knowledge. Through work accomplished at The Bridge, parents instilled in their children the value of hard work and learned to navigate the school system. They moved away from oppression, became empowered, and handled tensions. One of the most significant findings in this study was a shift by the parents from performing a standardized set of schooling practices set forth by the school, to developing a program that advanced as needs were assessed and identified. Parents in this study formally organized themselves in order to have a voice in the school (Delgado-Gaitan, 1991).
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Few, Roger. "Conservation, participation and power : community involvement in protected area planning in Belize." Thesis, University of Leicester, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/2381/30387.
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The thesis examines community involvement in the planning of protected areas designated for biodiversity conservation. The research centres on a case study of planning at two coastal sites in Belize: Bacalar Chico and Caye Caulker. The study employs qualitative methodology to analyse forms of public participation in planning and to explore the relations and strategies of power in operation between the diverse actors in the process. The case study revealed that official public participation exercises functioned as circumscribed forms of consultation. Local stakeholders were granted some opportunity to express their opinions, but decision-making remained in the hands of the planning agencies. Certain key local actors could, however, make use of alternative channels of involvement, such as political lobbying and informal social contact. Both forms of community involvement were played out in a complex arena of power relations. The power strategies of actors drew on unevenly distributed resources such as knowledge, discourse, authority and access to state apparatus. Actors also employed a range of tactics including persuasion, compromise, manipulation, exclusion, enrolment and the formation of alliances to secure influence in the power arena. At one level of abstraction it was possible to identify a power-typology of local actors with characteristic interests, roles and relations with planners. From the two original analytical themes a third, grounded theme emerged relating to the central role played by the planning authorities. Instead of fostering meaningful participation, planners were effectively engaged in a process of containment: their actions in the power arena were geared toward avoiding or blocking disruption and maintaining control. But containment was partial, and the extent of counter-containment helped to explain differences in planning progress between the two study sites. The thesis goes on to argue that attempted containment is inherent in the planning of externally-driven, biodiversity-oriented protected areas.
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Michalski, Anna. "A reluctant partner : the pattern of Denmark's involvement in the European Community." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 1995. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/1377/.
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Denmark joined the European Community (EC) on 1 January 1973 together with the United Kingdom and Ireland. Its relationship with the EC has since then been uneasy, culminating with the popular vote against the Maastricht Treaty in June 1992 which threatened for a moment to halt the European integration process. Although Denmark's uneasy relationship with the Community has been noted by external observers, the reasons behind its reluctance towards European integration are not widely understood. The aim of this thesis is to explain the pattern of Denmark's involvement in the EC during three crucial periods in the evolution of the Community by analysing Denmark's adaptation to EC membership and response to the developments in the process of European integration. The thesis's theoretical framework combines the concept of acquis communautaire with the four basic elements of the theory of International Regimes - principles, norms, rules and decision-making procedures. These four basic elements are used to analyse Denmark's compliance with the rights and obligations of EC membership defined as the 'regime contract'. The concept of an integration dilemma serves to help to examine Denmark's attempts at balancing through a set of strategies, the external and internal pressures stemming from the process of integration. The empirical part of the thesis focuses on three episodes in Denmark's EC membership: the accession to the EC, the relaunch of the Community leading to the signing of the Single European Act and the negotiations and ratification of the Maastricht Treaty. The main conclusion of the thesis is that Denmark has been a reluctant partner in the European integration process mainly because of its difficulties to embrace the principles of the 'Community regime'. This reluctance towards the principles of European integration has conditioned Denmark's pattern of involvement in the EC and influenced its behaviour as a member of the EC.
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Cousins, Deborah. "Community involvement in the provision of basic sanitation services to informal settlements." Thesis, Peninsula Technikon, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11838/1670.
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Thesis (MTech (Public Management))--Peninsula Technikon, Cape Town, 2004In South Africa, an estimated 15 million people - 38% of our population - do not have adequate sanitation. Every citizen has a constitutional right of access to basic services, which local government has the responsibility to provide. In reality such provision to people living in poverty is a daunting development challenge, exacerbated by growing unemployment and the spread of unplanned informal settlements. On the other hand, increased government investment in accelerating provision is a significant opportunity to link sanitation delivery to local economic development, as suggested in the recently revised Water Services Strategy document (DWAF, 2003). There is evidence that these two aspects of national policy can be brought together fruitfully. Community involvement, described as "a commitment to building on people's energy and creativity" (WSSCC, 2001) is consistently advocated by international, national and local government (DPLG, 2001) as essential to sanitation provision. There is broad agreement that a community-based approach is the cornerstone of sustainable service provision. This research focused on the context of urban poverty in informal settlements, taking community responses to sanitation delivery by local authorities into account. Prevailing approaches have had limited success in preventing health hazards, which relies on community-level actions to deal with poor use, inadequate maintenance and dysfunction of such sanitation services as are provided. Implicit in the principles underlying the involvement of communities are substantial community-based roles and functions that the research seeks to make explicit. Diverse local level capacities emerge as quite distinct opportunities for residents to become more actively involved in improving and sustaining their sanitation services.
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Bell, Lorna. "Understanding the relationship between community involvement and health : is social capital important?" Thesis, Sheffield Hallam University, 2006. http://shura.shu.ac.uk/20625/.
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Local authorities and their partners are increasingly required to involve communities within decision making (DETR, 1998; 2000a). Community involvement, and the subsequent creation of networks, has been presented within national policy documentation as a means to tackle social exclusion and associated multiple deprivation (DETR, 2000a; SEU, 2001). Similarly, increased levels of societal integration have long been associated with improved health outcomes (e.g. Durkheim, 1952; Egolf et al, 1992). More recently, social capital, in its various interpretations, has been portrayed as an important resource for public health (Kawachi et al, 1997). Here, the relationship between community involvement and health has been explored and the value of social capital in advancing understanding of this relationship determined. Theories of social capital and well being interpretations of health informed the development of a qualitative methodology. In the first stage of research, a local authority case study was selected to examine the translation of policies into a new strategic framework for community involvement. Qualitative interviews and analysis of key documentation determined interpretations of community involvement. In the second stage, observations and interviews were conducted with a newly formed community group to explore experiences of involvement and their potential influence upon health. This approach enabled the investigation of bonding, bridging and linking forms of social capital (Szreter and Woolcock, 2002). Reflecting the extensive changes taking place within the local authority, the new strategic approach to involvement centred upon a model of engagement, yet the value attached to community development perspectives diverged across the sectors. Investigation of the involvement activities of the community group revealed that their limited capacity inhibited interaction with the newly created involvement structures. Capacity, in turn, determined the perceived levels of control and influence held by communities. In the absence of the capacity to respond to the challenges presented by involvement, community group membership yielded predominantly negative health related outcomes. It is concluded that community involvement can potentially influence health through two primary mechanisms; the development of resources and the facilitation of collective action. Therefore uncritical acceptance of community involvement as a positive resource for public health does not reflect the complexity of the relationship. Instead, the relationship is shaped by the heterogeneous nature of bonding, bridging and linking forms of social capital. Reflecting this, it is concluded here that Bourdieu's (1997) interpretation of social capital as interdependent with cultural and economic resources presents a valuable framework for the implementation of involvement.
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Quewea, Zon Gangbayee. "Community Involvement among Liberians in Johnson City, Tennessee: An Exploratory Pilot Study." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2008. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1933.
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This study examined predictors of community involvement among Liberians in Johnson City, Tennessee. This study was exploratory in nature and used a social survey employing closed-ended questions. Using cross-tabulation analysis, results derived from a random sample (n = 62) of respondents indicate that persons who were older, married with children, employed, more religious, members of the Mande Fu ethnic group, and/or tended toward very liberal or conservative views had the highest rates of community participation. Predictors of types of community participation were also analyzed, the most significant of which was the higher prevalence of males in leadership roles and females in the provision of services and sundry items. The significance of these findings for community empowerment among Liberians in Johnson City was briefly discussed.