M.B.A. / The importance of a free market in a post apartheid South Africa has been acknowledged. The benefits should be spread so that all individuals may be able to share in the wealth generated by the people within the country. Privatisation is one mechanism for redistributing the wealth ofthe State, and the use of an Employee Share Ownership Participation Scheme (E.S.O.P.S.) is a way in which the wealth can be spread over a large proportion ofthe population. This was a basic policy of Thatcher's Government in the U.K. The same rationale is apt for the South African situation. An E.S.O.P.S., is similar to a profit sharing or a pension plan, and may be grouped with various holistic empowerment strategies. There are however two fundamental differences from these two traditional plans: 1. It invests only in the equity ofthe employer 2. The E.S.O.P.S., provides the organisation with an increased finance tool, through an increased ability to borrow. One of the business trends, in the U.S.A. and the U.K. and more recently in South Africa has been to extend the ownership of shares to employees. This secures a stake in the company, an avenue for retiring owners, and as protection against hostile takeover bids. Other motives that have been used are, as an educational experience and also as a part of participative management philosophy. The author has made a study of the acceptance of E.S.O.P.S., schemes in the South African Mining Industry and the impact of this concept on the workers through an attitude survey. The author headed the Department of Mining Engineering in the new University of Johannesburg, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment. He lectures the subjects Mineral Engineering Management, Coal Mining and Coal Services to candidates for the National Diploma (NO) and Bacculareus Technologae (B Tech) in Mining Engineering.

Employee participation is a common and popular aspect of most labour relations systems in many countries, including South Africa (the RSA). For years now, there have been debates around the actual benefits of employee participation initiatives to both the business and its employees. Various factors influence the development of participation initiatives within businesses. Some of these factors include legislation, management perceptions and attitudes, socio-economic factors, political and business complexities. These factors vary from one economy to another, from industry to industry, from company to company and may be classified into internal or external factors. It is even suggested that participation initiatives and levels of implementation may be different within the same organization, from department to department, and from one geographic set-up to another within the same organisation. It is for this reason that this research was undertaken. RoyalServe(RS) has an average of 12 000 employees and about 800 sites or branches or units within the RSA. A number of employee participation models and initiatives exist within RS, and it has been argued by many (inter alia trade unions, employees, managers) that the implementation of these models varies from one site to the next - with one of the major influencing factors being the size of a branch or site. Employee participation initiatives and models are established either voluntarily or in response to compliance with legislation. Some scholars and practitioners have suggested that employee participation models that yield positive results for both parties are the ones that are voluntary and have not been undertaken for legal compliance purposes. Others argue that even in cases where it is legislated and practiced for compliance, the end result remains the same. From a comparative point of view, the Japanese and German models of employee participation have been, for some time now, crowned as classic examples of employee participation. Interestingly, the two models (Japanese and German) were implemented for contrasting reasons. The Japanese model is voluntary whereas the German model is legislated. Both models remain leading examples of how successful participation can be, regardless of the reasons for its implementation. Royal Serve Cleaning operates in three Sub Saharan countries: South Africa, Lesotho and Namibia (making it a transnational organisation). The Head Office is situated in Midrand, Johannesburg, RSA. The following regional offices exist to provide immediate and more flexible support to both employees and clients at regional level: Cape Town: Western Cape; Midrand: Gauteng Province, Limpopo, North West and Mpumalanga; Bloemfontein: Free State, Lesotho and Northern Cape; Durban: KZN; Port Elizabeth: Eastern Cape; Namibia.The primary goal of this research was to investigate how the size of a site influences the implementation of employee participation within RoyalServe Cleaning (Pty) Ltd. Put differently, the question to be answered by the research is: are employee participation initiatives applied similarly across all sites within RoyalServe regardless of size? Another question that has been answered in this research report, albeit indirectly, is: do RoyalServe employees understand the various participation initiatives in place at all levels of the organisation? Accusations have been leveled by some employees that employee participation initiatives at RS are benefiting only those employees based at the big sites at the expense of the smaller ones. The research methodology followed in this paper includes: A review of the available literature about RoyalServe employee participation strategies, initiatives, minutes, reports and practices; The development of a questionnaire which was then distributed to selected employees at all levels within the organisation. The analysis of information gathered in the above activities and recommendations formulated was based on gathered data.

Public planning agencies in democratic political systems are faced by a demand from the public for the opportunity to have an influence on decision-making processes. Evidence suggests that this demand for public participation will not decline. The typical planning agency response to this demand results from common perceptions of the arguments in favour of participation. The literature suggests that this response has been a reluctant and marginal inclusion of public participation in decision-making processes, in reaction to forces external to the agency. The usual arguments for public participation in planning are based in democratic political theory, and are arguments which have to do with the benefits of participation for the public or the political system. These arguments are themselves not conclusive, for there are different schools of democratic theory which ascribe different levels of significance to participation. Public participation approached from the basis of this political theory does not lead to a concept of it being of significant benefit to the planning agency's organizational needs, except insofar as engaging in participation may make the agency conform to political requirements. An alternative approach, based on organizational theory, considers public participation from the viewpoint of how it may serve organizational needs of the public planning agency. The current Open Systems view of organizations provides such a means for undertaking an organizational approach to public participation. It considers an organization's communication with its external environment to be a critical element in its functioning. An examination of the principles and concepts of the Open Systems view of organizations demonstrates that they are applicable to public participation and the public planning agency. The Open Systems view can be integrated with a model of a public planning agency developed according to current planning theory, and with political systems theory as the latter pertains to a planning agency's interrelationships with its environment. When this integration is done within the context of the manner in which the representative democratic system functions, the result suggests that public participation assists in meeting certain "organizational" needs of the public planning agency. This "organizational approach" to public participation provides a rationale for a planning agency's positive attitude towards public participation, since it is an approach which considers the benefits to the planning agency as an organization. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

Magister Administrationis - MAdmin / This study investigates how a civil society organisation, Reclaim the City (RTC), based in the old Woodstock Hospital is attempting to address the plight of the homeless through deepening participatory governance. Homelessness is a growing concern in South Africa. Post-1994 the African National Congress (ANC) embarked on the Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP) to address the imbalances of the past through providing housing, water, electricity and sanitation amongst others. However by 1996 this program was decommissioned and replaced by the Growth, Employment, and Reconstruction (GEAR) policy which ushered in the privatisation of basic services. The challenge was that many of the previously marginalised could not pay for these services. The move away from the RDP meant residents had to pay for housing and when many could not pay their rents they were evicted. The evicted moved into the streets and later, in this case study, to the old Woodstock Hospital. In their new location, they started engaging with Development Action Group (DAG) and Ndifuna Ukwazi (NU) and the City of Cape Town to address their plight.

Online interactions, collaborations, and user-generated content are increasing at an exponential rate, and the rapid adoption of these Web 2.0 applications is putting an ever increasing pressure on public entities to adapt and adopt. �Governing bodies are exploring the benefits and possibilities of Web 2.0 applications, and are developing strategies for integration into the public process. Previous studies have researched the promising use of these tools in planning and community development departments serving the largest cities in the United States. Relatively little study has been done on the use and incorporation of these tools in planning and community development departments that serve smaller, less densely populated areas; areas that by their remote or sparsely populated nature could benefit greatly from easily accessed information exchange. The purpose of this work is to provide a benchmark study for how online, e-participation tools are currently used within planning and community development departments serving communities of 100,000 in population or less. The research also analyzes the demographic characteristics of the populations served by the departments using e-participation tools to explore developing trends in use. Finally, the study examines current barriers for incorporation of these tools into public processes, and attempts to offer developing and future solutions to these barriers. The goal of this research is to help planning departments serving relatively small populations make informed choices as how to best incorporate web-based, e-participation tools into their public process and daily functions. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

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Typescript, etc. / Digitized by Kansas State University Libraries

The study aims at investigating the importance of parental involvement in the teaching and learning of learners in their early years of schooling, especially in rural areas. The researcher is of the opinion that many parents in rural areas are illiterate and poor. Their disadvantages are therefore vast to their counterparts who live in urban areas. Parents could become involved in several activities occurring at school which could provide opportunities for them to be familiar with the school and at the same lime provide opportunities for their children to get more support at school and home. There are activities and responsibilities that parents can perform, which would help teachers to achieve the required goals of teaching and learning within the school. , The literature reviewed in this study on parental involvement in teaching and learning of learners at an early age, shows the awareness of both the rights and responsibilities of parents in their children's education and the vital role that they can play in decision making as well as behavioral change. A qualitative research approach was used in this study. Questionnaires as well as focus group interviews were used as instruments for data collection. The most important findings of the study are as follows: • Teachers and parents in rural areas lack knowledge about the importance of parental involvement, in the learning as well as teaching of learners at an early age. • Special efforts should be made to involve parents of disadvantaged learners. Due to poverty parents are often reluctant to become involved and deny the learners to benefit from parental participation in their learning. • Parent involvement programmes that include focus on parental involvement in instruction, conducting learning activities with learners at home, assisting with homework and so forth should be developed. • Parental involvement requires to be planned and coordinated thoughtfully. • Parents should be reminded time and again that their involvement and support make a great difference in their children's school performance, and that they need not be highly educated or have more free time for their involvement to be beneficial. • Parental involvement is a two-way communication process. / Thesis (M.Ed) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2010

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This thesis is concerned with the presentation of a three year project investigating mainstream teachers' attitudes towards inclusion in one Local Educational Authority in the Southwest of England. The study used both quantitative and qualitative techniques. The first phase of the project involved a survey which indicated that educating students with significant disabilities in mainstream classrooms results in positive changes in educators' attitudes. Here, the study confirmed previous research, which reported that teachers show positive commitment after they have gained mastery of the professional expertise needed to implement inclusive programmes. Further, the survey highlighted the ý importance and effectiveness of substantial self-reflective critical professional development, which results in the acquisition of generic teaching skills necessary for meeting the needs of all children, as opposed to short term technical responses to specific needs. The qualitative phase of the project involved in-depth case studies of two individual schools which considered the whole issue of inclusion from a holistic perspective. The results of the qualitative phase indicated that there are distinctions to be drawn between integration (seen as "participation") and inclusion ("participation7' and "belonging") -this was further highlighted by students' personal accounts of bullying within the secondary school which described itself as "inclusive". The qualitative aspects of the study highlighted the conclusion that "inclusive practice" is seen more in terms of integration than inclusion -students have their specific learning needsw ell met within the schools,b, ut their personal needs are not well supported.T he results indicate that in order to achieve inclusion, schools must look to restructuring to support personal as well as social needs. Such restructuring is dependent on specific professional development (as indicated in the quantitative study) which supports the needs of learners within "inclusive" (holistic) frameworks. 4