This dissertation sets out to describe a pro-active process of public participation in urban planning, motivated by a lack of planning theory and also available South African legislation to describe how pro-active public participation is achieved in planning practice. Communicative planning theory advises on and describes public participation as being meaningful focussing on consensus between stakeholders. Empirical evidence of such public participation is however scarce, and also a critique against communicative planning theory. South African legislation supports and uses the concept of pro-active public participation but has few practical guidelines to facilitate such a public participation process in planning. The context of public participation in South Africa, in specifically two communities (Khuma and Stilfontein) in the North-West Province was the primary focus in describing a pro-active process of public participation. These two communities that had participated in a previous project where public participation was conducted and most importantly documented were specifically chosen because they represent two different community contexts, with Stilfontein being a community primarily consisting of retired mineworkers and Khuma a community that came into being as a result of forceful removals during the apartheid era. Furthermore the process of public participation that was followed was unique in this project as methods from community psychology were applied to guide communication. The importance of context and communication were identified as the most important aspects when conducting public participation pro-actively. The importance of communication and context should be considered if a pro- active process of public participation is to be conducted. It is a timeous process to consider the context of community members when conducting public participation, but it must be considered by spatial planners. The possibility of multidisciplinary teams facilitating public participation processes in planning should be considered. In this way planners can be assisted when conducting public participation processes. The refinement of legislation describing public participation may also be helpful in attempts to enhance pro-active processes in public participation. / MArt et Scien (Urban and Regional Planning), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This dissertation sets out to describe a pro-active process of public participation in urban planning, motivated by a lack of planning theory and also available South African legislation to describe how pro-active public participation is achieved in planning practice. Communicative planning theory advises on and describes public participation as being meaningful focussing on consensus between stakeholders. Empirical evidence of such public participation is however scarce, and also a critique against communicative planning theory. South African legislation supports and uses the concept of pro-active public participation but has few practical guidelines to facilitate such a public participation process in planning. The context of public participation in South Africa, in specifically two communities (Khuma and Stilfontein) in the North-West Province was the primary focus in describing a pro-active process of public participation. These two communities that had participated in a previous project where public participation was conducted and most importantly documented were specifically chosen because they represent two different community contexts, with Stilfontein being a community primarily consisting of retired mineworkers and Khuma a community that came into being as a result of forceful removals during the apartheid era. Furthermore the process of public participation that was followed was unique in this project as methods from community psychology were applied to guide communication. The importance of context and communication were identified as the most important aspects when conducting public participation pro-actively. The importance of communication and context should be considered if a pro- active process of public participation is to be conducted. It is a timeous process to consider the context of community members when conducting public participation, but it must be considered by spatial planners. The possibility of multidisciplinary teams facilitating public participation processes in planning should be considered. In this way planners can be assisted when conducting public participation processes. The refinement of legislation describing public participation may also be helpful in attempts to enhance pro-active processes in public participation. / MArt et Scien (Urban and Regional Planning), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The current study examined the level of participation by families who have Vlll been involved between 1 and 3 years with the Community-Family Partnership (CFP) project. The CFP project is 1 of 34 Comprehensive Child Development Projects funded by the Administration for Children, Youth, and Families through the Head Start Bureau. The CFP makes available comprehensive, on-going services to enrolled families. Twenty-six families were identified as the Low Participation Group . Twenty-three families were identified as the High Participation Group. Children from each group were tested using the Battelle Developmental Inventory on a yearly basis. Results of a repeated measures ANOV A indicated that children of families with high participation had better child BDI scores than children of families with low participation. No difference was found in the economic status of these families. Multiple regression analyses were conducted using family demographic characteristics and other measures to create a profile of an actively participating family.

One of the aims of the Local Content Policy (LCP) is the economic development of Nigeria through the utilisation of local personnel and resources in the activities of the Nigerian oil and gas industry. Many studies have investigated the LCP, but limited work has been undertaken in investigating the transparency practices involved in the implementation of the LCP in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. The study critically evaluates the effectiveness of the LCP and the transparency practices associated with its implementation. A conceptual framework based on accountability was developed and employed in designing the research instrument. This framework was underpinned by the institutional theory, which links accountability discourse to regulatory institutions where organisations within a particular field are subject to pressures to exhibit legitimacy through socially and culturally authorised administrative routines that are intended to render accountability. The study employed a qualitative methodology and the data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with respondents from twenty-three indigenous oil and gas companies, regulatory bodies, international oil and gas companies and non-governmental organizations. The research findings demonstrate that the various LCP stakeholders’ views on the definition and purpose of the LCP differ significantly. These diverse opinions affect the way in which the LCP is perceived and implemented in the oil and gas industry. The study has been instrumental in revealing a number of positive effects the LCP has generated since its implementation in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. For example, the LCP compelled IOCs to utilise local resources in their operations, resulting in the domestication of oil and gas activities. However, the findings also reveal that the LCP has been enforced despite the lack of local capacity and capability for its implementation. The findings, therefore, highlight a number of challenges associated with LCP implementation including: the lack of infrastructure; insufficient capital and manpower; absence of trust; and the lack of coordination between the regulatory agencies in the industry. The research findings also reveal that there are different levels of transparency in the implementation of LCP. Determination of the level of transparency in LCP implementation and compliance monitoring is at the discretion of the NCDMB and the oil and gas companies, which unfortunately facilitates corrupt practices. Therefore, this study argues that significant improvements are required in transparency practices in LCP implementation by strengthening the LCP’s monitoring and enforcement process. Further, enforcement should strictly be the responsibility of the NCDMB, with no interference from the Nigerian government. Some further recommendations arising from this research include the need for investment in infrastructure that will facilitate indigenous companies’ participation in the industry. Also, efforts should be made to promote partnership and collaboration between indigenous companies and IOCs, encouraging investment in world-class infrastructure that can compete with international standards. To foster this partnership, the government and IOCs must invest in educational institutions which could boost the knowledge and capacity of Nigerians. The research concludes with the development of two new models: (1) The LCP stakeholder perception model; and, (2) The LCP implementation model. These models, which are the main contributions of knowledge arising from this thesis, will potentially aid the effective implementation of the recommendations arising from this study.

Children's theories of mind have been researched extensively over the past two decades. Generally, studies concerning this understanding have focused on children between three and five years of age because it is believed that an understanding of mind develops during this period. However, evidence from naturalistic contexts suggests that many younger children can demonstrate an understanding of the mind. Despite this, the focus in many studies has been the age at which children are able to demonstrate a representational understanding of mind. Less interest has been directed towards how children use their understanding during their everyday interactions. Evidence suggests further investigations need to consider the social nature of a theory of mind. For example, a growing amount of research indicates that social contexts are important in facilitating an understanding of mind. Relationships have been reported between a theory of mind and the following: peer popularity, family size and level of fantasy play. Given these, it appears necessary for research to address the social implications of an understanding of mind in 3-5 year olds. Interview and observation methods were adopted for data collection. The interview phase of this study investigated whether or not selected characteristics of narrative influenced children's performance on four non-traditional literature based false belief tasks. Results indicated that narrative style, active participation and narrative detail were significant predictors of children's ability to demonstrate an understanding of false belief. Age was not identified as a significant variable. The results from both phases in this study suggest that 3-5 year olds can demonstrate an understanding of mind during non-traditional false belief tasks and everyday interactions. It is argued that an understanding of mind is characterised by a range of behaviours and that not all these are addressed in the traditional paradigm. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This thesis investigates the ways in which children were included in the disaster management efforts of four major humanitarian aid organizations following the 2013 typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. Central concepts are resilience, vulnerability and participation, and the study builds on how these concepts relates to one another. The study examines both the prevalence of efforts addressing children as active participants, as well as the specific forms of active participation that they constitute. Program evaluation reports by Oxfam, UNICEF, IFRC and Save the Children were examined through a qualitative content analysis. The results indicate that contrary to suggestions of previous studies, humanitarian organizations did include children as active participants in their disaster management efforts following typhoon Haiyan. Additional findings include the dominance of school-based participatory efforts, as well as limitations in addressing power structures potentially preventing the long-term resilience-building of children.

Social media have become one of the most important tools for international development organizations when it comes to spreading their message and reach a greater number of followers around the world. However, the connection between the users and the organization is mainly based on one-click basic interactions which does not guarantee a strong commitment. The goal of this study is to check whether initiating a dialogue with users increases participation. We want to observe if there are noticeable improvements in the engagement that justifies a more frequent use of the conversation with the subscribers within the social media channels of the organization. We will analyse the work of UNESCO, the United Nations' specialized agency for education, science and culture. We have worked from within on the social media campaigns analysed.This research uses a mixed method combining quantitative results, such as statistical analysis, and qualitative results through content analysis and interviews with six experts in the management of social media. The Social Media Engagement Theory by Di Gangi and Wasko will provide the theoretical framework for this work.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka elevernas inställning till att duscha i samband med idrott och hälsa i skolan. Syftet var också att undersöka huruvida eleverna upplever att valet att inte duscha kan påverka det aktiva deltagandet på idrottslektionen. Frågeställningarna i studien är: Finns någon skillnad i inställningen till att duscha i samband med idrottslektionen hos elever i årskurs fem, sju och nio? Upplever eleverna i årskurs fem, sju och nio att valet att inte duscha i samband med idrotten blir ett hinder för att delta aktivt på idrottslektionen? Studien har en kvantitativ ansats med frågeformulär som datainsamlingsmetod. Urvalsgruppen bestod av 128 elever ur årskurs fem, sju och nio på en grundskola i Sverige. Resultatet visade att ju äldre eleverna var desto oftare valde de att inte duscha i samband med idrottslektionen. De äldre eleverna ansåg det också vara mindre viktigt att duscha efter idrottslektionen än de yngre. Resultatet visade även att valet att inte duscha efter idrottslektionen kan bli ett hinder för aktivt deltagande men att det inte alltid var så. / The purpose of this study was to examine students’ attitude regarding showering following lessons in physical education. The purpose was also to examine whether the students consider the choice of not showering following lessons in physical education can influence their active participation. The study seeks to answer the questions: Is there a difference in attitude between students in fifth, seventh and ninth grade regarding showering following lessons in physical education? Do the students in fifth, seventh and ninth grade consider that the choice of not showering following lessons in physical education becomes an obstacle for active participation? The study has a quantitative approach and the method used for the gathering of data was questionnaires. The selection group consisted of 128 students from fifth, seventh and ninth grade at an elementary school in Sweden.   The results showed that the older the students were, the more often they chose not to shower following lessons in physical education. The older students also considered it to be less important to shower after lessons in physical education than the younger students did. The results also showed that the choice of not showering following lessons in physical education could represent an obstacle for active participation but not always.

The present thesis investigated several components important to the understanding of mentalization for children who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). The result of the thesis demonstrated that non-verbal mental age correlated significantly with mentalization tasks, and that the participants did not significantly differ compared to a nonverbal age-matched group of children without disabilities. Different expression of active participation, which is necessary to be able to display mentalization in dialogue, was observed in analysed interaction. The children’s social networks were limited and consisted of very few peers, thus limiting the possibilities of active participation. The number of peers in the children’s social networks correlated significantly with aspects of the children’s mentalization ability. Children who use AAC display their mentalization abilities independently in social interaction and through e-mail messages to peers. A wider construct that will have relevance to mentalization in ordinary situations is described encompassing several different abilities. The development of these abilities is dependent on the child’s capacity for adapting a cognitive flexibility when reflecting and theorizing on what is happening in a given situation. The development of mentalization is also dependent on a child’s close friendships, active participation in interaction, functional language ability, and varied social networks consisting of both peers and adults.

The work deals with active participation of religious people while celebrating li-turgy renewed by II. Vatican council, The whole work is divided into 5 major parts. The history of liturgy is described in the first part of the work. Emphasis is put on the age of Liturgical Movement and following outfall into general reform of liturgy ? the constitution of Sacrosanctum Concilium. The second part deals with the importance of music and language which are necessary condition for active participation. I would like to highlight the transition from latin to local languages after the II. Vatican council. The Church wants the religious people to be active in liturgy and which leads to another part of the work which is dedicated to the services for children and young people. It also considers the beauty and richness of the breviary. A very important term is animation of liturgy which is mentioned in the fourth part of the work. I dedicated the last part of my work is to familirize the readers with efforts in Týn nad Vltavou?s parish to engage the people in liturgy.