Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Full text release at OhioLINK's ETD Center delayed at author's request.

Th.--Sc. polit., 1973--Paris I. / Bibliogr. p. 507-510. Index.

Stakeholder engagement and collaborative governance have become increasingly important in the field of river basin management. Modern basin management strategies tend to take an adaptive or integrative management approach, which call for broad stakeholder inclusion to account for the increasing uncertainty and competing demands placed on water resources. This dissertation examines several key aspects of stakeholder participation: public awareness and value of participation in management, opportunities and barriers to participation, and the effect of public participation on watershed management outcomes. A major goal of this project is to identify factors that enhance managers’ ability to include effective stakeholder participation in the water governance process. While opportunities for participation are increasingly mandated as part of environmental management practices, the quality of that participation is often called into question. In the first of three papers comprising this dissertation, I conducted an interdisciplinary study assessing risk perception and actual health risks from exposure to metals in fish from the Tisza River Basin of central Europe. Mining in the region has chronically introduced metals; however, two major mine-tailings spill in 2000 contributed an estimated 240,000 m3 of wastewater and tailings contaminated with cyanide and metals to the system. In 2013 and 2014, water and fish (N=99) collected from the lower Tisza River Basin were analyzed for cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc. Concurrently, surveys (N=45) collected near sampling sites assessed fish consumption patterns and risk perception. Metals in water exceeded regulatory criteria at multiple sites, however metals are not bioaccumulating to a concerning degree in fish as bioaccumulation factors were below 1. Fillets were within European Food Safety Authority recommendations; however, the Target Hazard Quotient for lead was elevated at 1.5 for average consumers and 3.5 for people who consume fish twice weekly. The majority of survey participants were unconcerned with local fish consumption (87%), citing the “clean” appearance of fishing locations. Participants also reported relatively low fish consumption, with most (76%) eating basin fish once a week or less. While our study indicates fish are generally safe for human consumption, waters are polluted, suggesting that local fishing populations may be at risk from unseen pollutants and highlighting the need for monitoring and notification systems. Broadening the analysis of local stakeholders and stakeholder perception to the basin level, the second paper for this dissertation examined public perception and public participation in Tisza River Basin management. The complexity associated with achieving sustainable river basin management plans for international, transboundary river basins, such as the Tisza River Basin in central Europe, make them an ideal study area for examining the influence of education and experience on stakeholder perception of basin management. This study presents findings from analysis of in-person surveys to examine differences in local stakeholder perceptions of the Tisza River Basin across employment and education sectors through analysis of participants’ levels of knowledge, experience, and involvement in basin management. The survey was conducted among members of the public in locations across the basin, in which participants were asked to identify and rank their opinions of factors affecting the health of the river basin, to identify observed changes in flood patterns, and to rank their level of interest and participation in basin management activities. To evaluate whether experience affected responses, participants were grouped according to whether they worked in the public or private sector, and by their level of education (no college, undergraduate, or graduate school). Significant differences in stakeholder responses were found between education levels attained among participants in the public versus the private sector, and between the reported levels of environmental concern among participants of different education levels. Participants also reported low levels of participation and monitoring of management activities. These differences and lack of participation highlight the need for public education in participatory governance structures to support sustainable river basin management efforts. The Upper Mississippi River Basin is similar to the Tisza River Basin in its transboundary nature and the predominance of agriculture in the region. The Upper Mississippi River Basin (UMRB) is a largely rural watershed (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri) that is heavily managed for agriculture and agricultural exports. This has led to water quality impairments both within the Upper Mississippi River Basin and contributed significantly to the large hypoxic zone of the Gulf of Mexico. Management responses have led to the formation of collaborative responses across stakeholder groups, including states, agencies, industry, non-government organizations, and the public. In the third paper of this dissertation, I shifted my focus from the public to another set of local stakeholders, environmental non-government organizations (ENGOs), and their influence on river basin management. ENGOs are recognized as serving as implementers, catalysts, and partners with government agencies in the management process. To assess the participatory role of ENGOs in watershed management in the Upper Mississippi River Basin, expert interviews were conducted with members actively engaged in watershed-related activities. Participants were asked to identify their key areas of

Natural Resource Management processes are undergoing major transformations: technical and regulatory mechanisms are no longer considered sufficiently adaptive to address the complexity and uncertainty which characterise contemporary challenges in the sector, thus motivating wider use of integrated and collaborative approaches. Against this background, new models of participative management are encouraged which emphasise social learning among stakeholders. Yet, reported research which unambiguously demonstrates the role and impact of social learning remains sparse. This thesis contributes to a better understanding of the conditions under which social learning occurs, and most importantly the dynamics and benefits of social learning by systematically collecting evidence of the processes and impacts attributed to social learning. The research which employs a sequential mixed methods research design is undertaken with stakeholders involved in various engagement activities forming part of the implementation of the WFD in the UK, Ireland, and Germany and expands the still limited empirical knowledge base on social leaning in stakeholder interaction. Findings demonstrate that participatory platforms are shaped by processes of social learning although they are more noticeable as collaborative initiatives mature. Also, there is some degree of variation in the extent to which people learn or change, with stakeholders readily acquiring knowledge and improving relationships. However, the transformation of views and the development of a shared group identity seem to be limited. Findings clearly illustrate the multitude of factors that constrain the occurrence of learning processes and eventually limit the extent to which these can contribute to sustainable NRM. Foremost, this study reinforces the importance of the actual communicative learning process, the quality and intensity of which is largely influenced by the organisational arrangements and, more fundamentally, the ability of the stakeholders to shape the process.

No description available.

M.Comm. / Empowerment is one of the most discussed topics relating management style, culture, structural change and employee satisfaction. Once a company has introduced an employee empowerment strategy, there is very little guidance on how to determine if the strategy is effective and successful. Management is defined as getting things done through other people. What is to be done is not exactly described or- prescribed. No tasks are defined, the definition is generic and should fit all organisations, structures and people (Pretorius, 1997:1). However, over time a lot of management theories have evolved in describing the "how" of management. Together with these approaches, structures, cultures and management styles have formed that were and are still in use by companies today. The world has evolved from an Industrial Age to an Information Age where information is freely available. In an ever-increasing pace of change, most companies are changing the structure, culture and management styles in which they operate to keep up to improve market share, communications and productivity. Most bigger and older companies grew up in the era of structured power. This hierarchical structure of power has its origin in the Industrial Age. The emphasis was on mass production, standardisation, specialisation, stability and security. But even that has changed as "change" become the buzzword for survival. There has been a move in the late eighties and nineties, where change is the only constant. It is influenced by a total new set of needs, and left with the need for different attitudes, behaviour, management style and modus operandi. Responsible empowerment is seen by some as an essential part change management, because it can lead to both increased productivity, quality and employee satisfaction. Since there may be as many negatives talked about employee empowerment as there are positives, it is clear that empowerment does not work for all organisations. It is one of the most difficult aspects of continual improvement to implement (Stebbins, 1998). Involving people in the decisions they make, to make them feel responsible and accountable for their work is something that takes time, patience and perseverance. The idea of employee empowerment has considerable appeal to the participating business leaders and many are convinced that empowerment offers substantial potential benefits to companies,

There is now national and international evidence which indicates that those who have higher educational qualifications are more likely to be present-day and future sport participants than those who leave education once they reach the minimum school-leaving age. In Britain, despite significant government policy and financial investment in interventions designed to boost youth sport participation alongside other favourable trends, including a doubling in the proportion of students entering higher education (HE) since the 1980s, the rates of sport participation among the general population, including young people, have remained relatively static. This is particularly significant for, if attending HE does indeed help explain why university students are more likely to become present-day sport participants and remain sports-active into later life, then one might have expected to observe increases in participation by young people and adults over the last three decades or so. Since this has not happened, definitive conclusions about whether there is a HE effect on sport participation and, if so, what this effect/these effects are, cannot yet be drawn. The central objective of this study, therefore, was to explore this apparent paradox by analysing the development of 124 20-25-year-old undergraduate students’ present-day sport and leisure participation via a retrospective analysis of their sport and leisure careers. The study employed a cross-sectional, mixed methods, research design incorporating structured and semi-structured interviews held at two universities in England between March and July 2011. The findings indicated that the two clearest predictors of differences in the present-day sport participation and sport careers of university students were subject of study and sex, with sport students and males being the most likely participants over the life course and whilst at university. These differences first emerged during childhood, widened from age 12-13-years-old, and remained relatively set from age 16 onwards. The differences in the present-day sport participation of university students, and the richness of their overall sport careers, could thus not be attributed to a ‘HE effect’ as previous research has suggested. It was during childhood, rather than youth, when the preconditions required for constructing short- or longer-term sport (and leisure) careers were formed. The differential childhood socialization practices students’ experienced played a crucial role in the development of sporting habituses and dispositions within their unfolding networks (or figurations) which provided the foundations upon which present-day inequalities in participation were based. In this regard, the assumed contribution attending HE has previously been expected to make to students’ current and future sport participation appears to have been over-stated, and in so doing diverted attention from other processes associated with the inequalities that underlie students’ differential engagement in sport. It seemed that the context of university did little to promote overall levels of student participation, the numbers of sports they played, and the facilities they used. At best, attending HE may have simply delayed the drop-out from sport among those with already established and longer-running sport careers prior to attending university. In this regard, the present focus on raising sport participation among 14-25-year-olds by various sports organizations and facilitators would appear misguided and perhaps doomed to failure, for the evidence of this study suggests that a more appropriate focal point for policy interventions concerned with boosting longer-term participation is not with youth, but with children.

D.Com. (Industrial Relations) / This study contains the results of an investigation that was undertaken to determine managers' perceptions with respect to readiness for productivity bargaining. In the chapters dealing with the theoretical aspects, the author has defined productivity, analysed the factors that have an impact upon productivity and discussed the relationship between productivity, collective bargaining and worker participation. Remuneration systems, performance and productivity improvement were also discussed. A critical evaluation of productivity bargaining in practice was done in order to illustrate the abovementioned theoretical concepts from a practical viewpoint. A conceptual model of organisational change factors which determine the readiness for productivity bargaining and a questionnaire which was derived from it, was developed and provided the basis for the empirical research. Using the questionnaire and statistical analysis, the perceptions of management at different levels of seniority and who negotiate with trade unions on a decentralised or centralised basis within different industries in the PWV-geographical area, were tested in order to determine whether there are significant differences regarding readiness for productivity bargaining. The questionnaire addressed the following main dimensions: worker participation, productivity awareness and productivity bargaining and management behavior and values within the bargaining relationship. Three hypotheses were formulated and tested statistically. Firstly, the hypothesis was stated that there are significant differences between the perceptions of management at different levels of seniority regarding readiness for productivity bargaining. They would perceive readiness for productivity bargaining differently since it is expected that they would be at different levels of readiness for this form of collective bargaining. In order to ascertain whether the hypotheses are valid or not, a questionnaire was completed by 15 executive managers, 61 senior managers and 79 middle managers. The questionnaire was constructed using seven-point interval scales where the respondent could indicate one as extreme~y negative and seven as extremely positive in response to each item. Responses were grouped per management category in order to test the perceptions of managers at different levels of seniority regarding readiness for productivity bargaining. Use was made of a MANOVA, an ANOVA and a one-way F-test (Scheff~) and no significant differences were found between the perceptions of managers at different levels of seniority regarding readiness for productivity bargaining. The second hypothesis was formulated and stated that there are significant differences between the perceptions of managers regarding readiness for productivity bargaining in organisations with decentralised and centralised bargaining forums. The author suspected that the degree of centralisation or decentralisation of the bargaining process could have an influence on readiness for productivity bargaining. In order to determine whether the hypothesis (as stated) was correct, all responses in the two bargaining categories were compared with each other. The results were tested using the Hotelling T2 test and the author confirmed empirically that there are no significant differences between the perceptions of management which make use of different (centralised versus decentralised) bargaining forums. Thirdly the hypothesis was stated that there are significant differences between the perceptions of management regarding readiness for productivity bargaining in different industries. It was expected that industries would differ in terms of managers' perceptions of· the abovementioned aspect, but there was uncertainty as to whether these differences would be significant regarding productivity bargaining. Using a MANOVA, an ANOVA and a one-way F-test (Scheff~) it was determined that there are significant differences between the perceptions of ~anagement in different industries regarding readiness for productivity bargaining. Qualitative data which was obtained from Human Resources Managers, trade union representatives, academics/consultants and other authorities on the subject during a series of personal interviews conducted during the Pilot-study, was confirmed by the abovementioned empirical findings. The general conclusion is that there is not a readiness for productivity bargaining amongst managers in the PWV-geographical area. In order to develop this readiness, several actions are required as part of an integrated productivity strategy. Specific actions include a self-audit during which managers evaluate the present and desired levels of worker participation, productivity awareness and -bargaining and their own behaviour and values within the bargaining relationship. These recommendations are discussed in detail in the last chapter. A chapter was dedicated to the formulation of guidelines for management and organised labour regarding productivity.

No description available.

Background: The majority of people living with the effects of stroke experience participation challenges. Occupational Performance Coaching for stroke survivors (OPC-Stroke) is designed to promote engagement in personally identified participation goals and develop the ability to address future participation goals. Purpose: This thesis explored the potential efficacy of OPC-Stroke, its mechanisms of action, and the feasibility and acceptability of the randomized controlled trial methods to inform the planning of a larger trial. Methods: A pilot randomized controlled trial with an embedded qualitative component. Twenty-one participants were randomly assigned to receive 10 sessions of OPC-Stroke or usual care. Participation, goal performance and satisfaction, goal self-efficacy, emotional well-being, and cognition were measured at pretest, posttest and six months follow-up. Qualitative interviews were conducted at posttest with individuals who were in the intervention group. Results: No significant between group differences were noted for any outcomes, although scores for cognition approached significance (p=0.065) and also showed a large effect size (partial eta squared =0.167). Examination of effect sizes indicated a moderate clinically significant benefit of OPC-Stroke for goal performance and satisfaction scores (partial eta squared = 0.075 and 0.078 respectively). Participation scores improved for both groups but the overall trajectory of participation seemed to be different between groups. Goal self-efficacy remained stable across time and groups, and emotional well-being declined in both groups. Qualitative findings confirmed that all components - emotional support, individualized education and goal-focused problem-solving - made important contributions to promote achievement of participant-selected participation goals. Recruitment, retention and outcome measure completion rates were satisfactory. Conclusion: Based on the effect sizes of goal performance and satisfaction, and cognition, a larger trial to examine the efficacy of OPC-Stroke is warranted. Further work to select the most appropriate tools to measure participation and goal self-efficacy is recommended prior to the next trial.