One of the major contributions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child(UNCRC) to the context of children’s rights was the introduction of participation.In addition to the right to provision and protection, participation gives children theright to express their opinions in all matters affecting them. Furthermore, theyhave to be provided the opportunity to be heard. As part of their continuedcommitment towards children’s rights, Sweden has now decided to incorporatethe UNCRC to its legislation. Based on this context and drawing from literatureabout children's rights and participation, and a study case of youth participationand culture, the project seeks to create a model that promotes and improvechildren’s and young people’s participation an influence. Thus, the project aimsto contribute to the applied research field and inform on practical approaches tochildren’s participation and influence. As a result, the project proposes HejÅsikter! An ecosystem for children’s and young people’s participation, wheredifferent stakeholders benefits from collaborative and coordinated work andultimately achieve children’s acknowledgement and empowerment.

The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that influence why students attend or do not attend the fitness and recreation centers provided to them on campus. With the obesity epidemic growing substantially over the past several decades, it has consequentially affected a vast majority of the nation, including the college-age population. In response to this, the use of fitness and recreation centers on college campuses and universities has become a focal point for administrators and recreation center managers as a focus on student recruitment and retention. The study utilized an online questionnaire which was adapted and revised from a prior survey and corresponding research that assessed fitness and recreation center usage within the college population (Zizzi, Ayers, Watson & Keeler, 2004). The survey used for collection of data in this study assessed factors related to college students’ usage or non-usage of campus recreational facilities by college students. It was distributed to a random sample of 1,100 undergraduate students at Indiana University of Pennsylvania through their student e-mail account. Results from the data collected in this study revealed that users were more likely to be male, Caucasian, non-smokers, and have no health concerns, which is representative of prior research on fitness and recreation center participation. Factors related to usage of the recreational facilities included maintaining one’s current weight as well as weight loss. Factors that influenced occasional non-usage in the user group were lack of time and energy, too much schoolwork, and inadequate facility operational hours. A factor related to non-usage included proximity of the recreational facility in relation to the students’ living arrangements. University administrators and fitness and recreation center managers need to be conscious of the factors that influence usage for the purpose of encouraging student recruitment and retention. Higher levels of usage will increase physical activity and influence health and wellness in the college population. / Dr. Robert Kostelnik Dr. Robert Alman Dr. Joshua Castle

Political socialization and human agency

The move toward primary health care renewal in Canada and in industrialized nations around the world is resulting in a fundamental change in the way health care is delivered. Citizen participation is one of the five pillars of primary health care-not just participation in decisions related to an individuals health care treatment, but also from the larger perspective of decision-making that affects policy and structure within an organization. Health care organizations want to be responsive to the needs of their communities, and consumer-savvy citizens increasingly expect to play a part in the decision-making process of organizations. <p>The relationship between health care administrators, providers and citizens is sculpted by fundamental philosophies, values and processes. These include organizational culture, change process, social capital, citizen role definition and shared power or citizen empowerment. This research seeks to link the concepts and create an understanding of the dynamic and complex relationships which result in effective or ineffective citizen participation in decision-making within organizations. A theoretical framework was used which addresses these fundamental philosophies.<p> The object of this research is to explore the processes and structures of organizations that facilitate or hinder meaningful citizen participation. Community health centres (CHCs) have long been recognized in Canada and around the world as leaders in the facilitation of citizen participation, and this research reviews pertinent documents from fourteen CHCs across Canada. Some of the data collected from a national research project on community health centres is used. Through secondary analysis, the original results of the document audit are compared to the original results of a quantitative survey administered to volunteers, clients, health care professionals and board members at each site that collected information about community capacity, organizational capacity and outcomes. <p> Results of this thesis research are presented in a framework of community and organizational characteristics influencing the degree of public participation supported in the literature. The research presented in this thesis shows some relationship between supportive factors identified in the organizations documents and the degree of participation and satisfaction identified in the quantitative survey results. Possible reasons for this relationship are explored and recommendations are made based on a hierarchical model of participation, with greater citizen participation as the goal.

Voter participation among Saskatchewans citizens has decreased in both federal and provincial elections, especially in the past decade or so, and especially among 18-24 year olds. Provincially, turnout has fallen almost 20 percentage points over a four-year period. Saskatchewan voter turnout in federal elections has fallen almost 15 percentage points in a similar time period. The purpose of this thesis is to uncover potential factors that might help to explain why turnout has decreased so markedly. Though a number of factors exist to explain why fewer citizens are participating on election day, this thesis has worked to seek out the explanation in two forms. First, taking into account the civic literacy theory of Henry Milner, this thesis has examined Saskatchewans junior and senior high school curricula in an effort to find changes in the way civics has been taught. Marked changes have iv been found, and differences in the prescribed teaching of civics throughout the years point to the possibility that the way in which civics is taught to students may have an effect on whether they feel a duty or obligation to vote. Second, this thesis has, following the social capital theory of Robert Putnam, concluded through a brief survey of membership numbers in a small number of community and volunteer organizations as well as church attendance and volunteer levels that community involvement may also be a factor in deciding whether to vote. This thesis has concluded that more, duty-oriented civic education is needed in Saskatchewans junior and senior high schools in order to ensure that students leaving the education system feel an obligation to participate on election day and in the community more than they are presently.

Voter participation among Saskatchewans citizens has decreased in both federal and provincial elections, especially in the past decade or so, and especially among 18-24 year olds. Provincially, turnout has fallen almost 20 percentage points over a four-year period. Saskatchewan voter turnout in federal elections has fallen almost 15 percentage points in a similar time period. The purpose of this thesis is to uncover potential factors that might help to explain why turnout has decreased so markedly. Though a number of factors exist to explain why fewer citizens are participating on election day, this thesis has worked to seek out the explanation in two forms. First, taking into account the civic literacy theory of Henry Milner, this thesis has examined Saskatchewans junior and senior high school curricula in an effort to find changes in the way civics has been taught. Marked changes have iv been found, and differences in the prescribed teaching of civics throughout the years point to the possibility that the way in which civics is taught to students may have an effect on whether they feel a duty or obligation to vote. Second, this thesis has, following the social capital theory of Robert Putnam, concluded through a brief survey of membership numbers in a small number of community and volunteer organizations as well as church attendance and volunteer levels that community involvement may also be a factor in deciding whether to vote. This thesis has concluded that more, duty-oriented civic education is needed in Saskatchewans junior and senior high schools in order to ensure that students leaving the education system feel an obligation to participate on election day and in the community more than they are presently.

In this exploration, participatory planning workshops are used to implement the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) initiative in a grade six class in Winnipeg. The approach is an effective student-centered strategy that meets the needs of children with a range of learning abilities. The benefits of participatory planning workshops for students with special needs emerged as a key success of the process. Grounded in the principles of community engagement, this document connects children’s rights to citizenship with the need to engage children in planning for sustainable development. Semi-structured interviews were integral to understanding the unique needs of the participant class. Challenges that emerged during the parental consent and student assent process are examined and strategies for future interdisciplinary collaborations are identified. An extensive literature review explores the emergence of youth participation in planning and a range of best practices for engaging children in participatory student-led processes. This research investigates international strategies for implementing the ESD initiative and considers emergent best practices at student, institutional and government levels. Schools are examined as components of community infrastructure that influence neighbourhood design and shape development. As school infrastructure ages and school facilities are challenged to become more sustainable, engaging with school communities in planning, design, renovation or building will be an important skill for planning professionals. Developing the necessary knowledge, skills and values to engage children in planning processes is illustrated as an integral component of this process. / February 2009

The move toward primary health care renewal in Canada and in industrialized nations around the world is resulting in a fundamental change in the way health care is delivered. Citizen participation is one of the five pillars of primary health care-not just participation in decisions related to an individuals health care treatment, but also from the larger perspective of decision-making that affects policy and structure within an organization. Health care organizations want to be responsive to the needs of their communities, and consumer-savvy citizens increasingly expect to play a part in the decision-making process of organizations. <p>The relationship between health care administrators, providers and citizens is sculpted by fundamental philosophies, values and processes. These include organizational culture, change process, social capital, citizen role definition and shared power or citizen empowerment. This research seeks to link the concepts and create an understanding of the dynamic and complex relationships which result in effective or ineffective citizen participation in decision-making within organizations. A theoretical framework was used which addresses these fundamental philosophies.<p> The object of this research is to explore the processes and structures of organizations that facilitate or hinder meaningful citizen participation. Community health centres (CHCs) have long been recognized in Canada and around the world as leaders in the facilitation of citizen participation, and this research reviews pertinent documents from fourteen CHCs across Canada. Some of the data collected from a national research project on community health centres is used. Through secondary analysis, the original results of the document audit are compared to the original results of a quantitative survey administered to volunteers, clients, health care professionals and board members at each site that collected information about community capacity, organizational capacity and outcomes. <p> Results of this thesis research are presented in a framework of community and organizational characteristics influencing the degree of public participation supported in the literature. The research presented in this thesis shows some relationship between supportive factors identified in the organizations documents and the degree of participation and satisfaction identified in the quantitative survey results. Possible reasons for this relationship are explored and recommendations are made based on a hierarchical model of participation, with greater citizen participation as the goal.

Employee participation in decision making¡]PDM¡^is ¡§ a conscious and intended effort by individuals at a higher level in an organization to provide visible extra-role or role-expanding opportunities for individuals or groups at a lower level in the organization to have greater voice in one or more areas of organizational performance¡¨. Thus¡Ait is important especially for vertical hierarchical organizations. Many employee participation programs are applied such as quality circle¡B suggestion system¡Bemployee ownership program¡Bemployee who is a representative on the board of directors . Many researchers supported some contributions through PDM programs on organization performances such as cost reduction and quality improvement. PDM also provides job satisfaction and job performance on individual in some reports . But some researchers studied from meta- analysis concluded that¡¨ PDM can have statistically significant effects¡Abut the average size of this effects is too small to be valuable¡¨. Some researches viewed PDM as a medium only for information change and knowledge expansion. PDM is necessary and sufficient although it could not affect satisfaction or performance directly. The data is collected from China Steel Company that has 8750 employees. This company is transformed from government ownership therefore there are many PDM activities. We used questionnaires to ask employee and study the relations between PDM and job performance¡Bjob satisfaction. This study we found there is small effects on individual performance and satisfaction. We also found information participation¡]change¡Binteraction¡^can affect PDM activities each other and can explain internal satisfaction of individual. From this study we could find internal satisfaction affects contextual performance that is the base of good task performance We conclude it is most important to perform PDM activities and encourage employee to join. This is one of key factors for competition in the industry.

Master's thesis. / Format: PDF. Bibl.