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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
101

A portrait of Janus; the social construction of witchcraft in The Ottawa Citizen, 1980-1989.

Reid, Sian Lee MacDonald, Carleton University. Dissertation. Religion. January 1992 (has links)
Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 1992. / Also available in electronic format on the Internet.
102

O papel dos Hackathons promovidos no setor público brasileiro : um estudo na perspectiva de inovação aberta, citizen-sourcing e motivação dos participantes

Ferreira, Gabriel de Deus 08 March 2017 (has links)
Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Economia, Administração, Contabilidade e Gestão de Políticas Públicas, Programa de Pós-graduação em Administração, 2017. / Submitted by Fernanda Percia França (fernandafranca@bce.unb.br) on 2017-05-08T16:22:47Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2017_GabrieldeDeusFerreira.pdf: 1366004 bytes, checksum: 5ae62edb3ba40f91d098e26451145114 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Raquel Viana (raquelviana@bce.unb.br) on 2017-05-08T18:47:33Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2017_GabrieldeDeusFerreira.pdf: 1366004 bytes, checksum: 5ae62edb3ba40f91d098e26451145114 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-05-08T18:47:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2017_GabrieldeDeusFerreira.pdf: 1366004 bytes, checksum: 5ae62edb3ba40f91d098e26451145114 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-05-08 / O Hackathon é uma estratégia de citizen-sourcing que convida hackers a criar projetos que transformem informações de interesse público em soluções digitais, acessíveis a todos os cidadãos. Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo geral investigar as iniciativas de Hackathons utilizadas como estratégia de citizen-sourcing para inovação aberta no setor público brasileiro, considerando-se a perspectiva de agentes públicos promotores das iniciativas e a motivação de cidadãos participantes. A pesquisa tem natureza exploratório-descritiva e abordagem mista. O método utilizado foi estudo de múltiplos casos (20 Hackathons) e teve como procedimento de coleta de dados pesquisa documental, entrevistas semi-estruturadas com nove agentes públicos promotores de Hackathons e levantamento de opinião com participantes desse tipo de iniciativa no setor público. Como técnica de análise dos dados, foram utilizadas análise documental, análise de conteúdo com categorização a priori e a posteriori, testes de diferenças entre grupos, análises correlacionais, análise fatorial confirmatória, modelo de regressão de Poisson e Modelo de Equações Estruturais. Foram identificados 47 Hackathons realizados no período de 2012 a 2016 pelo setor público. Os principais objetivos desses eventos, sob a ótica de agentes públicos promotores, são: geração de inovações, promoção da participação social e aumento da transparência. Foi aplicado um levantamento de opinião com 308 participantes de Hackathons no setor público e os resultados demonstraram que aprendizado, recompensas financeiras e divertimento influenciam a atitude do sujeito relativa à sua participação em Hackathons (R2 = 67,5%). Entretanto, a atitude pouco explica a variabilidade do número de participações (R2 = 2,1%). Propõe-se, ainda, um framework com fases para o processo decisório para promoção de Hackathons com a finalidade de potencializar o alcance dos objetivos das iniciativas. Este trabalho aprofunda os conhecimentos a respeito de citizensourcing ao discutir os objetivos e resultados de Hackathons sob a ótica de agentes públicos e ao construir uma escala (instrumento psicométrico) de motivação de participantes de citizensourcing utilizando os casos de Hackathons. / The Hackathon is a citizen-sourcing strategy that invites hackers to create projects that transform public-interest information into digital solutions accessible to all citizens. This research aimed to investigate the Hackathon initiatives, used as a citizen-sourcing strategy for open innovation in the Brazilian public sector, considering the perspective of public agents that promoted the initiatives and the motivation of participating citizens. The research has exploratory-descriptive nature and mixed approach. The method used was a multiple case study (20 Hackathons) and had procedures of data collection: documental research, semi-structured interviews with nine public agents promoters of Hackathons and survey with participants of this type of initiative in the public sector. The data analysis techniques were document analysis, content analysis using a priori and a posteriori classification, group differences testes, correlation analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, Poisson regression model and Structural Equations Model. It was identified 47 Hackathons conducted in the period from 2012 to 2016 by the public sector. The main objectives of these events, from the perspective of public promoters, are: generation of innovations, promotion of social participation and increase of transparency. A survey with 308 Hackathons participants in the public sector demonstrated that learning, financial rewards and fun influence the attitude relative to subjects participation in Hackathons (R2 = 67,5%). However, the attitude weakly explains the variability of the number of participations (R2 = 2,1%). It was proposed a framework with decision-making process for promotion of Hackathons in order to maximize the achievement of the objectives of the initiatives. This work deepens the knowledge regarding citizen-sourcing discussing the objectives and results of Hackathons under an optics of public agents and builds a motivational scale (psychometric instrument) of citizen-sourcing participants using cases of Hackathons.
103

Utilização de banco de dados ontológicos e análise de redes sociais de cidadãos em sistemas de governo eletrônico

Natale, Leandro Pupo 12 February 2008 (has links)
Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:38:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Leandro Pupo Natale.pdf: 2776145 bytes, checksum: 113bb06865c071e6572064e376dc086c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-02-12 / In recent years the technological advances have allowed the improvement, streamlining processes, activities simplification and the establishment of new forms of communication between people. They also reached the government sphere and its activities, bringing benefits with respect to access information and enabling greater interaction between citizens through services C2C (Citizen to Citizen). Based on these aspects, this research is guided in the use of the social networks analysis to achieve the mapping of relationships and interactions between citizens under the government focus, in order to extract and represent that knowledge in metadata to build an ontology. Through the use the UML notation and the Java platform, it was modeled and developed a prototype of a computer system that manages and manipulates a social network, using metadata to store the social ties in the ontological database. This allows the social network to be expanded dynamically through a semantic analysis of the data held in each new citizen inserted in the network. In a complementary manner, by means of algorithms adapted the graphs theory, the prototype provides every citizen the path to pass through to find other people with common interests and needs in, revealing the result of the search graphically. The prototype also displays graphically the different social ties among citizens, so that government agencies can quantitatively analyze the information present in the social network. / Nos últimos anos os avanços tecnológicos têm permitido a melhoria, agilização de processos, simplificação de atividades e o estabelecimento de novas formas de comunicação entre as pessoas. Estas alcançaram também a esfera governamental e suas atividades, trazendo benefícios com relação ao acesso à informação e possibilitando uma maior interação entre os cidadãos por meio de serviços C2C (Citizen to Citizen). Com base nesses aspectos, esta pesquisa pautou-se na utilização da análise de redes sociais para o mapeamento das relações e interações entre os cidadãos sob o foco governamental, de forma a extrair e representar esse conhecimento em metadados para construir uma ontologia. Por meio do uso da notação UML e da plataforma Java, foi modelado e desenvolvido um protótipo de um sistema computacional que gerencia e manipula uma rede social, utilizando metadados para armazenar os laços sociais num banco de dados ontológico. Isso permite que a rede social seja ampliada dinamicamente por meio de uma análise semântica dos dados, realizada a cada novo cidadão inserido na rede. De forma complementar, por meio de algoritmos adaptados da teoria dos grafos, o protótipo fornece a cada cidadão o caminho a ser percorrido para encontrar outros cidadãos com interesses e necessidades em comum, exibindo o resultado da busca graficamente. O protótipo ainda exibe graficamente os diferentes laços sociais entre os cidadãos, para que os órgãos governamentais possam analisar quantitativamente as informações presente na rede social.
104

Examining the Effectiveness of Citizen Science in Wildlife Conservation

Reynolds, Emily Ann, Reynolds, Emily Ann January 2016 (has links)
The purpose of this research was to develop, implement, and evaluate a citizen science program to survey and monitor for jaguars (Panthera onca) and ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) within key mountain ranges in southwest Arizona. I had three main objectives: 1.) develop and implement a citizen science program to train participants with little or no knowledge of wildlife conservation, 2.) identify program effectiveness in comparison with experts in terms of the quality of data gathered and the financial and administrative costs/benefits, 3.) understand what creates an effective citizen science program and how it can be replicated in the future. This research examined the efficacy of using citizen science as a tool to connect the public and scientific community through education and a research-based project. A network of citizen scientists were provided extensive education and training by field experts to participate in jaguar and ocelot monitoring in southern Arizona. The scale and scope of this project is unprecedented in the citizen science literature; participants drove and hiked off-trail monitoring wildlife cameras monthly for a minimum of one year in extremely rugged backcountry conditions in the mountains near the U.S./Mexico border. Citizen science participants were challenged by terrain, weather, and border issues during their time on this project. Despite these challenges, our group of nine citizen scientists successfully downloaded and sorted 28,637 photos from 22 cameras at 14 monitoring sites over 12 months. They logged a total of 327 hours of fieldwork including driving, hiking, and performing camera maintenance. After finishing a site visit, citizen scientists also sorted photos identifying wildlife, logging approximately 109 hours of data organization. In addition, 100% of our citizen scientists adhered to our protocols that we tested and implemented in the field over a one-year period. Citizen scientists continue to monitor remote wildlife cameras in the rugged mountainous regions of this southern Arizona study area. Citizen science is often criticized because of skepticism from the scientific community regarding data integrity, quality control, and potentially biased data. This research aimed to exam the data integrity of citizen scientists by comparing it to the data analyzed by experts. When comparing the ability of citizen scientists and field team experts in sorting and correctly identifying wildlife, I found strong positive correlations between the levels of data quality. These high positive correlations indicate that, with training, citizen scientists are capable of accurately identifying wildlife from camera data nearly as well as the field team experts, and can be an excellent surrogate for experts. Connecting volunteers to the natural landscape through hands-on science research has the potential to create many positive experiences. Citizen science can increase participant’s knowledge of science, build trust and foster understanding, and can create a more informed public. Despite these benefits, data integrity is the most important aspect of research and data collected by non-scientists remains heavily scrutinized. Collaboration amongst professionals, educators, program designers, and data managers is necessary to ensure that project goals are achieved while maintaining scientific integrity. Continuing to examine citizen science programs is important to advance the field of citizen science and foster meaningful relationships between the public and scientists. This study provided a unique opportunity to use non-scientists to augment data collection and assessment in the scientific workplace to advance jaguar and ocelot conservation. We strongly believe that citizen scientists remain an underutilized resource for helping scientists collect and analyze data in a climate of reduced funding and increasing need for long-term monitoring.
105

Self-determination in citizen science: Diagnosing the applicability and implications for mutually beneficial settings

Waters, Paul January 1900 (has links)
Master of Science / Department of Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resources / Jeffrey Skibins / Citizen science is a method of carrying out scientific research with the help of untrained citizens. Citizen science carries multiple potential benefits for scientific inquiry, but in order to be effective must facilitate mutually beneficial settings. The most prevalent use of citizen science has been in ornithology. Bird based citizen science projects have been highly successful and have facilitated mutually beneficial projects. The field of citizen science is changing with the onset of new technologies. These technologies may expand the opportunities of citizen science, but it is important that a mutual benefit is maintained. This study uses self-determination theory, a theory of human psychological needs and motivations, to address motivational factors of bird based citizen science participation to provide a framework by which to maintain the necessary mutual benefit. This study consists of responses from an online survey administered to subscribers of birding listservs across the country. Analysis of the responses found that the need for relatedness is most consistently related to participants’ motivations. The suggestion is made that future citizen science efforts focus on the community building aspects of participation. Other nuances of the data and ideas for further research are discussed.
106

The Mandela Bay Development Agency's role in promoting community participation in the Helenvale Urban Renewal Project, Port Elizabeth

Andrews, Christopher Lee January 2013 (has links)
Community participation in urban renewal projects has become important in the South African government’s efforts to address past imbalances and improving the livelihoods of socially excluded and marginalised communities. In order for the Helenvale Urban Renewal Project to be successful and bring about sustainable change, it is vital that the community be allowed and encouraged to play an active role in consultation and participation initiatives. This study outlines the importance of community participation, the types, the incentives and disincentives as well as the possible barriers to effective community participation. Findings from the analysis of the collected data indicates that a community project can only be successful if the implementing agent employs democratic principles whereby all residents are given a voice and are allowed to participate in the decision-making and implementation process. This study explores the concept of community participation in the Helenvale Urban Renewal Projects with particular reference to the role played by the Mandela Bay Development Agency in promoting community participation in the Helenvale Urban Renewal Projects (HURP), in Port Elizabeth.
107

Local area planning: a process of conflict resolution in Provincial/Municipal land use disputes

Stone, Robert Little January 1976 (has links)
Conflicts between the Province and municipalities over the development of Provincial land holdings are a common occurrence in Provincial-municipal relations. It is inevitable that a municipality and the Province will come into conflict because of the differing communities of interest that they serve. This is especially true when, to be effective, one jurisdiction must depend on the cooperation of another. Conflict is often the result of the unexpected impact of a government project. The Provincial Government holds large amounts of land and is a very major developer. Its projects are often large. The municipality is expected to exercise land use controls and must absorb the immediate, impacts created by the Provincial project. Yet the success of any government depends, in large part, on its sensitivity to the validity of other concerns which may exist. For example, traffic congestion, increased parking, noise, decreased property values, pressure to change land use are the types of concerns which may arise. In addition to the concerns expressed by government, citizens have been playing a more explicit role in the decision-making process. This has increased the spectrum of concerns which decision-makers must account for thereby heightening the potential for conflict. The resolution of land use conflict then, is a common situation for a planner. The potential for conflict is increasing due to pressures of urbanization. It is these pressures which have increased the need for greater cooperation between the Province and municipalities in order for them to carry out effectively their respective mandates. The mechanisms for resolving conflict then become very important if the different levels of government are to be effective in optimizing the public interest. This thesis examines the potential of citizen participation as a mechanism for resolving Provincial-municipal land use conflict. There are many possible forms of citizen participation and their effectiveness varies with numerous factors. To determine whether citizen participation aggravates or alleviates Provincial-municipal conflict the author constructed a hypothetical citizen participation model and tested it against a case study. The case study was the proposed expansion of the Shaughnessy Hospital by the British Columbia Medical Centre. The author chose local area planning, a current means of citizen participation practised in Vancouver, as a potentially resolving influence in land development disputes between the Province and the City of Vancouver. It was hypothesized that: The resolution of Provincial-municipal land development conflicts would be improved by the establishment of a local area planning process in affected parts of a municipality. The study method included a survey of pertinent literature and analysis of documentary evidence of a relevant case study. It established the sequence of events and the various communities of interest in the case study. The main source of data was a series of ten structured interviews. These interviews were with representative people with different degrees of involvment in the case project and varying perspectives on citizen participation. To the author's knowledge, so far no attempt has been made to monitor the area planning process with respect to its ability to alleviate Provincial-municipal land use conflict. This thesis served as a first attempt. Consequently generalizations on its effectiveness in resolving conflict cannot be made. However, the findings supported the contention that a consensus building force should exist if the process of conflict resolution is to be improved. In this case the consensus force was the citizen group. The research showed that the effectivesness of citizen involvement, as a conflict resolving influence, was enhanced by organization and access to information and technical expertise. This would enable the citizen groups to present a better prepared case. It was the organizational ability and access to technical expertise which implied that an area planning process would improve the effectiveness of the citizen position in the decisionmaking process. On the basis of this evidence it was concluded that local area planning, in this case, would have aided the process of conflict resolution. There is a lack of data and experience comparing "'existing area planning processes with each other and with other forms of citizen participation. This indicates that before effective generalizations can be made of the ability of area planning to alleviate Provincial-municipal conflict that further comparative case studies be undertaken. It is recommended that the current area planning process be monitored and that structural analysis be undertaken of who makes decisions and how they are made. This is distinct from participation where groups are involved in the process and present their case. However, after their presentation it is up to the decision-makers to make the decision. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate
108

The public planning agency and public participation : an organizational approach

Sorensen, Carl Vernon January 1981 (has links)
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
109

Citizen participation : a problem when beneficiaries are not involved in the establishment of a service

Gamede, Sibongile Elizabeth January 1988 (has links)
Bibliography: pages 112-113. / There are problems concerning citizen participation in projects especially in the NICRO-Vaal Service. This study reviews participation of community residents in establishing a Welfare Service for crime prevention and rehabilitation of offenders in the Vaal-Triangle Area. Participation is reviewed with special reference to the beneficiaries of the service. The study has al so reviewed the history of citizen participation, as well as the different models and modes of participation in projects. Participation in the NICRO-Vaal Service is divided into two categories. There is participation by community residents who are interested in the project because there has never been a service that was specifically concentrating on prisoners, ex-prisoners, their families and crime-prevention programmes in the area. These community residents have been receiving guidance from the National Council for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of Offenders. They formed a committee which is still administering NICRO Services in the area. The second category of participation, is participation by the beneficiaries of the service. Service beneficiaries have been attending all meetings where they were invited by the committee. They endorsed the committee's activities, but they have never been actively involved in NICRO Services. This became clear when the transport services that were organized for the families of prisoners, were administered at a loss. This is indicating that there is "limited" participation from the beneficiaries' si.de. They are still not active in NICRO Services in general. The hypothesis in this study is, "A Service that 1S established without the beneficiaries' involvement is consequently weakened". Both primary and secondary resources of information are used. The information pertaining to the history of the project was obtained from the records of the National Council for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of Offenders (NICRO) and the Minutes of the NICRO-Vaal Services Committee. Information from the beneficiaries of the service was obtained by administering an interview schedule to families of prisoners. The study's hypothesis has been confirmed. The study concludes by proposing an alternative model of participation. Human service organizers will benefit from the study's findings by learning different strategies and modes of starting a project.
110

Citizen participation in local policy making in Malawi

Malamulo, Terence Crayl 03 June 2013 (has links)
Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of a Master of Management in Public Policy at the Graduate School of Public & Development Management, University of the Witwatersrand. / In the last two decades, a number of discourses on democratic governance and development in the developing countries position citizen participation as a public accountability mechanism. Most countries have adopted decentralization governance reforms to enable local citizens to influence government policies and services. Literature on decentralization shows weak coherence on how public accountability works to achieve local development and democracy consolidation. Hence, the research study proposes a citizen participation model that should be used in investigating citizen based public accountability in policy making. The evaluation study intends to measure the extent to which citizen participation influences public accountability in local policy making in Malawi; using an evaluation framework based on the suggested citizen participation model. The evaluation investigated the influence of citizen participation in the making of the Lilongwe City Development Strategy (2009). It used qualitative research design and a case study of Ngwenya, a peri-urban area in Lilongwe City. The study used a clarificative evaluation approach. The study found that there is poor citizen participation to influence public accountability in local policy making in Malawi. The findings depict that the conceptualization of citizen participation model should underpin policy principles and associate laws to frame contextual base that helps decentralization benefits reach the local citizens. The report suggests that to improve public accountability through citizen participation primarily there should be: i) clear social, constitutional or political contracts between local government and citizens; ii) adherence to democratic governance; and iii) consistent alignment of programme implementation to assumed contexts in their design.

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