My dissertation investigates the effects of citizen participation and subnational fiscal arrangements on the success of fiscal decentralization efforts in Vietnam. Using cluster analysis and regression analysis, I find that the success of decentralization efforts, explains not only by the degree of decentralized fiscal responsibilities and the proximity of local government, but also by the involvement of citizens in service delivery. I further identify that the sheer existence of participatory mechanisms in local service delivery does not promise better service provision. In some cases, participation may hurt such provision. My dissertation provides a unique glimpse into the effects of citizen participation in a highly centralized political system. The results of this dissertation contribute to the study of public governance in Asia and the broader comparative literature on decentralization.

This study examines the role of Ward Committees in facilitating “authentic” public participation, with particular reference to Ba-Phalaborwa Municipality. The key question of the study is whether Ward Committees serve as effective mechanisms to promote public participation in the local sphere of government in South Africa. To answer this question, this research project focuses on the composition, functioning and responsibilities of Ward Committees, and how these contribute to effective public participation. This is important because one of the mandates of local government in the post-apartheid era in South Africa is to promote local democracy through the participation of communities. The empirical findings of this research project reveal that Ward Committees are confronted with a multitude of challenges where their functioning tends to be compromised. This has led this research to recommend the improvement of capacity among Ward Committees as a way of enhancing public participation. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

Text in Afrikaans / Summaries in English and Afrikaans / Misdaad is deesdae op almal se Iippe. Daar verloop nie 'n dag of die media lewer verslag oor een of ander vorm van misdaad wat plaasgevind het nie. Die vraag is nou wat gedoen kan word om die vlaag van misdaad in Suid-Afrika te stop en lewe en eiendom te beskerm. Feit is dat daar nie slegs 'n enkele stap is wat gedoen kan word om misdaad te voorkom nie. 'n Gesamentlike poging deur die hele gemeenskap is die enigste wyse waarop misdaad voorkom kan word. Proaktiewe polisiering kan aileen slaag indien die gemeenskap kollektief verantwoordelikheid vir misdaad aanvaar en daadwerklik optree om misdaad te voorkom. Die polisie, as aktiewe vennoot in die voorkoming van misdaad, het 'n opvoedingstaak deur die gemeenskap in te lig oor hoe misdaad gepleeg word, wanneer en waar dit gepleeg word en wat gedoen kan word om kwesbaarheid te verminder. 'n Gesindheid van omgee vir mekaar moet dus by die gemeenskap (die passiewe vennoot) gekweek word. Hieruit volg respek vir die lewe en eiendom van 'n ander en dit sal lei tot aktiewe optrede. Presipiterende polisiering deur die gemeenskap is 'n teken van geslaagde opvoeding. Dit word nie net ge"illustreer deur die verharding van die fisiese om9ewing nie, maar ook deur die betrokkenheid van die gemeenskap in die omgewing om dit veilig en aangenaam vir almal te maak. Blywende sukses kan slegs verseker word indien die polisie en die gemeenskap ondersteuning van ander departemente ontvang. Slegs wanneer die gemeenskap totale samewerking van aile belanghebbendes ervaar sal hulle gemotiveerd wees en voortgaan om betrokke te bly. / These days crime is on everybody's lips. Not a day passes without the media reporting on some or other crime which has taken place. The question that arises is what can be done to stop the crime wave in South Africa and protect lives and property. The fact is, there is no one single step that can be taken to prevent crime. A joint effort by the community as a whole is the only way in which crime can be prevente. Proactive policing can be successful only if the community accepts collective responsibility for crime and makes a conscious effort to prevent crime. The police as an active partner in crime prevention should educate the community about how crime is committed, when and where it is committed and what can be done to decrease vulnerability to crime. An attitude of caring for each other must be cultivated in the community (the passive partner). This will result in respect for lives and property of others and will lead to proactive conduct. Precipitating policing by the community is a sign of successful education. This is illustrated not only by the hardening of the physical environment, but also by the community's involvement in ensuring that the environment is a safe and pleasant place for all. Lasting success can only be ensured if the police and the community are supported by other departments. Only when the community has the full co-operation of all parties concerned, will members of the community be motivated to remain involved. / Police Practice / D.Litt. et Phil. (Police Practice)

Seminario para optar al Grado de Licenciado en Ciencias Políticas y Gubernamentales Mención: Gestión Pública / Esta investigación se enmarca entre los estudios cualitativos y busca comparar los modos de participación ciudadana en base a dos casos de comunas en Chile: La Pintana y Las Condes en el período 2012-2017. El resultado de esta investigación señala que las principales diferencias entre ambas comunas se enmarcan en 5 dimensiones, frecuencia de los usos de los modos de participación ciudadana, los enfoques sobre la participación ciudadana que presenta cada una de estas comunas, la voluntad de los funcionarios hacia la participación ciudadana, el entorno organizacional que rodea al Municipio (organizaciones de la sociedad civil) y la capacidad de incidencia de los vecinos de estas comunas. / This works is a qualitative effort which general purpose is to compare the ways of citizen governance, based in two cases of comunas in Chile: La Pintana and Las Condes during 2012-2017. The results of this efforts points out that the most important differences between both cases are basically categorized in 5 dimensions, the frequency, the approach to the topic from the local government, bureaucrats willingness to citizen governance, the civil society organizations and the impact that citizens can have in public policy in this comunas.

Submitted by Maria Creuza Silva (mariakreuza@yahoo.com.br) on 2014-07-16T19:03:36Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Pedro Hernando Pairazamán Díaz. 2008.pdf: 2013279 bytes, checksum: 23dab5f8834bc7d3c36ca32a8fc31e76 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Maria Creuza Silva (mariakreuza@yahoo.com.br) on 2014-07-16T20:34:03Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Pedro Hernando Pairazamán Díaz. 2008.pdf: 2013279 bytes, checksum: 23dab5f8834bc7d3c36ca32a8fc31e76 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-07-16T20:34:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Pedro Hernando Pairazamán Díaz. 2008.pdf: 2013279 bytes, checksum: 23dab5f8834bc7d3c36ca32a8fc31e76 (MD5) / Os conselhos municipais de saúde no Brasil constituem-se como uma importante estratégia de democratização do setor, onde a participação cidadã e o controle social permanecem ao horizonte da Reforma Sanitária. Observa-se, na última década, uma vasta produção de estudos que envolvem os referidos conselhos. Como parte deste tipo de experiências o Conselho Municipal de Saúde de Salvador (CMSS), objeto desta investigação, precisa ser revisto historicamente com a finalidade de observar o desenvolvimento deste como espaço para fortalecimento de participação cidadã na formulação, execução e controle social das políticas públicas desta área. A originalidade da presente investigação radica na periodização aqui adotada, sendo que o CMSS foi estudado desde sua criação em 1987 até 2006. Trata-se de um estudo de caso do tipo descritivo. Utilizou-se para este propósito 206 atas das reuniões do referido Conselho. Para ter uma maior facilidade na analise dos dados produzidos no trabalho de campo, o estudo foi dividido em seis períodos que estavam de acordo com as mudanças na gestão municipal. Os resultados apontam na direção de que a participação cidadã e o controle social exercido pelo CMSS desenvolvem-se de forma heterogênea nas diferentes etapas do seu funcionamento. As análises feitas neste estudo sugerem que a pesar de se manter as velhas estruturas sociais e políticas na gestão à saúde, o desenvolvimento da participação do segmento dos usuários está associado à autonomia do CMSS perante o Poder Executivo municipal. Finalmente, pode-se concluir que o CMSS pode-se constituir como uma importante arena para desenvolver um processo de luta em favor da ruptura com os padrões hegemônicos vigentes, vinculado ao processo político brasileiro de democratização, em especial da Reforma Sanitária. / The municipal health councils in Brazil are an important strategy for democratization of this sector, where civic participation and social control remain in the horizon of the Brazilian Sanitary Reform (RSB). In the last decade, a vast production of cross-sectional studies that involve mentioned councils. As part of this kind of experience the Health City Council of Salvador de Bahia (CMSS), the subject of this investigation, be reviewed historically accurate for the purpose of observing its development as an area for the strengthening of citizen participation in the formulation, implementation and monitoring social public policies in this area. The particularity of this research lies in the temporary cuts adopted here, and the CMSS studied since its inception in 1987 to 2006 and divided into six periods in accordance with changes in municipal management. This is a descriptive study, which was used as a methodological strategy case study. We used for this purpose 206 minutes of the meetings of that council. The results pointed in the direction of participation and social control exercised by the CMSS took place in a heterogeneous at different stages of its operation. The analyzes in this study suggest that despite maintaining the old social and political structures in the management of health in Salvador, the development of participation segment of users is associated with autonomy CMSS front of the municipal executive. Finally, we conclude that the CMSS is constituted as an important arena to develop a real process of struggle for the break with the hegemonic standards in force, linked to the Brazilian political process of democratization, especially of RSB.

Fruto das mudanças realizadas no Programa Nacional de Inclusão de Jovens ProJovem, criado em 2005, o ProJovem Urbano é o programa do governo federal destinado a proporcionar o aumento da escolaridade, qualificação profissional inicial e a participação cidadã de jovens de 18 a 29 anos, prioritariamente aqueles que se encontram em maior estado de vulnerabilidade social. Entendendo-o de forma integrada às políticas de alívio à pobreza e à política novo desenvolvimentista implementadas durante o governo Lula, o presente estudo analisou os nexos existentes entre o ProJovem Urbano e a educação para o desenvolvimento sustentável do novo milênio proposta na Política de Desenvolvimento do Milênio e nas orientações dos organismos internacionais, na qual a educação adquire um novo papel: produzir não só capital humano, mas também capital social. A pesquisa centrou-se em uma das dimensões curriculares do programa denominada participação cidadã, que tem entre suas atividades o Plano de Ação Comunitária (PLA) - ação social a ser planejada e executada pelos jovens no intuito de levá-los a resolução de alguns problemas locais. A partir da pesquisa empírica realizada nas cidades de Palmas, São Vicente e Guarujá, nosso objetivo foi identificar o sentido dado à participação e as contradições que essas experiências podem suscitar. Se elas contribuem para ação dos jovens no sentido oposto ao associativismo colaboracionista aos interesses do capital e para a constituição de comportamentos políticos capazes de (re)fortalecer os movimentos sociais progressistas organizados. Com base no método do materialismo histórico e dialético, concluímos que a dimensão ético-político do programa constitui em formar os jovens para a nova sociabilidade capitalista; tanto no plano econômico, ao educar para os valores do novo desenvolvimentismo centrado no consumo, quanto no plano político, por meio do consentimento passivo/ativo aos ajustes executados pelos intelectuais orgânicos do capital na virada do milênio, com a finalidade de abrandar os efeitos da ortodoxia neoliberal. Que não cabe a programas como o ProJovem Urbano a formação da cultura política participativa que venha contribuir para o (re)fortalecimento dos movimentos sociais. E que, apesar das ações comunitárias serem conduzidas pela perspectiva do capital social, na prática, esta ideologia também não é tão facilmente permeável aos jovens participantes do programa das cidades investigadas, frente às suas precárias condições de existência e reprodução da vida, o que faz com que o programa permaneça fortemente em disputa para ser redirecionado ou superado / Result of the changes made in the National Youth Inclusion Program - ProJovem, created in 2005, the Urban ProJovem is the federal government program designed to provide higher levels of schooling, initial professional qualification and participation as really citizens of young people 18-29 years old, primarily those who are most in state of social vulnerability. Understanding it as integrated to the policies to alleviate poverty and to the "new developmental" policy implemented during the Lula government, the present study examined the links between ProJovem Urban and the "education for sustainable development" for the new millennium proposed be the Millennium Development Goals Policy" and the guidelines of international organizations, in which education takes a new role: to produce not only human capital but also social capital . The research focused on one of the curricular dimensions of the program called "citizen participation", which has among its activities the Community Action Plan (PLA), social action to be planned and executed by young people in order to get them to solve some of the local problems. From the empirical research conducted in the cities of Palmas, São Vicente and Guarujá our goal was to identify the meaning of participation and contradictions that these experiences may ensue. If they contribute to the work of the youth as in opposition to the collaborative association, to the interests of capital and the creation of political behaviors able to (re)strengthen progressive organized social movements. Based on the method of dialectical and historical materialism, we conclude that the ethical-political dimension of the program is to form young people for the new capitalist sociability, both in economic terms, when educating for values of the new developmentalism centered on consumption, as in the political aspect by means of passive / active adjustments performed by the organic intellectuals of the capital at the turn of the millennium, in order to mitigate the effects of neoliberal orthodoxy. It is not for programs like Urban ProJovem the formation of participatory political culture that may contribute to the (re)taughening of social movements. And that despite the community actions be conducted from the perspective of social capital, in practice, this ideology is not so easily permeable to the program youth participants of the cities surveyed, compared to their precarious conditions of existence and reproduction of life, which makes the program to remain strongly in contention to be redirected or exceeded

This study aims to draw attention to a new concept within the tourism industry that integrates citizen science into an ecotourism product. The merge of citizen science and ecotourism shows potential to play a role in strategic sustainable development and to give ecotourism providers a competitive advantage in the market. However, the environmental and social benefits of this concept can only be realized if it is applied correctly. The framework for strategic for strategic sustainable development (FSSD) was used to address the complexity surrounding ecotourism and the use of citizen science. The study used a mixed method research design by conducting exploratory interviews, and then distributing a questionnaire to validate the qualitative findings. Results demonstrate that the merge of citizen science and ecotourism could contribute to sustainability through education, conservation, local community engagement, and the increased environmental awareness of the travellers. Additionally, it demonstrates that the integration of citizen science in an ecotourism product might create business benefits for the ecotourism providers in conjunction with a dynamic learning experience for the consumer. This study makes adaptions to a widely used citizen science toolkit and recommends appropriate changes to the process in order to ensure that it is effective for ecotourism providers while incorporating sustainability throughout the product design phase.

This study explores the challenge of low citizen engagement and participation in e-Government in terms of lack of knowledge, experience, trust in e-Services and government itself. The research addressed the issues of factors that influence citizens' acceptance and adoption of e-government services in Libya, how to overcome the barriers, and determine serious games can promote citizen usage. This study applied an integrated approach utilising the Technology Acceptance Model and Trustworthiness Model theoretical models in a focused framework of intention to use. This research applied mixed research methodology, with exploratory sequential case study (quantitative) and qualitative investigation of the Libyan e-Government project and barriers to its implementation by semi-structured interviews. Furthermore, a quantitative survey questionnaire was used to validate the proposed framework, and a post-test questionnaire was also used to evaluate the effectiveness of the serious game. A conceptual framework was developed for all factors that may affect users’ intention to use e-Services and determine the adoption needs: the two main factors are e-Government adoption issues (including citizen trust in government, e-Services and the internet) and knowledge and experience. Using serious games is of a great value in learning and expanding knowledge, practicing and training, building self-confidence, and increasing security and privacy mechanisms. It would build trust between users and agencies by experiencing e-Services’ reliability, dependability, efficiency and capability, thus promoting adoption and use.

It is challenging to motivate usage of IT services provided by government or public administration since the usage of such services is based on voluntariness. One way to incentivize usage is by making such services fun to use, which can be done by using gamification. Gamification is game-like elements in an otherwise non-game like service. This study aims to describe how gamification, from a usability perspective, can be used in a citizen report application. The strategy used in this study is design and creation where we develop an IT artefact that constitute a prototype. Hence, the method prototyping is used. Furthermore, usability is considered while developing this prototype. The scientific contribution of this study is the prototype itself, and insights on how to use gamification as a vehicle for usability. Two versions of the prototype were developed before tested by five focus groups, which added up to a total of 37 respondents. The focus groups answered a questionnaire and participated in a semi-structured group interview. The result of this was evaluated and used to improve the prototype and to find suggestions of how to implement gamification in the application. Our findings show that gamification can be implemented in the application and should be so by using a point system where the points can be cashed in for a reward of some sort. To counteract risks of vandalism the points should be handed out to the user after the suggestion in the report is considered and validated by the public administration providing the service. Gamification should be implemented to create satisfaction regarding usability. However, this study finds that accommodation of efficiency and effectiveness needs should be prioritized before satisfactory needs are implemented in the application. / Det är en utmaning att motivera användning av IT-tjänster som tillhandahålls av offentlig förvaltning eftersom användningen baseras på frivillighet. Ett sätt att motivera användning är att göra det roligt att använda tjänsten. Det kan ske med gamification. Gamification är spelliknande element i en, annars, icke-spelmässig tjänst. Denna studie syftar till att beskriva hur gamification, ur ett användbarhetsperspektiv, kan användas för att skapa en applikation för synpunktshantering. Forskningsstrategin som används är design and creation där vi utvecklar en IT-artefakt som utgörs av en prototyp för en synpunktshanteringsapplikation. Metoden som används för detta är prototyping. Vidare tas användbarhet i beaktande under utvecklingen av prototypen. Kunskapsbidraget för denna studie är dels prototypen och dels insikter om hur gamification kan användas för att skapa användbarhet. Två versioner av prototypen utvecklades initialt. Dessa testades av fem fokusgrupper med totalt 37 respondenter. Respondenterna deltog i en enkät samt en semistrukturerad gruppintervju. Resultatet av detta utvärderades sedan och användes för att förfina prototypen och för att ge förslag på hur gamification kan införas i applikationen. Denna studie visar att gamification kan implementeras i applikationen och bör göras så genom ett poängssystem där poängen kan användas för en belöning. För att motverka risker med skadegörelse ska poängen delas ut efter en inrapporterad synpunkt har behandlats av kommunen som tillhandahåller tjänsten. Gamification ska användas för att det är underhållande och belönande vilket skapar tillfredsställelse ur ett användbarhetsperspektiv. Vi konstaterar också att ändamålsenlighet och effektivitet måste tillgodoses innan gamification, som tillfredsställande element, införs.

The forced movement of people from one place to another due to mining is not a new phenomenon. As the mining becomes more intensive, external consequences arise that forces the displacement of people. In this paper, I will investigate the unique case of Kiruna, Sweden where not only the people but also the whole town is being relocated. This move is being coordinated between the different stakeholders involved but mainly by the municipality and the mining company, Luossavaara- Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB), which is also covering most of the cost for the relocation. In this research, I aimed at determining how urban planning from a sustainable development view was conducted from scratch and analyzed the public participation in the relocation. An elite interview, text -based documents along with a SWOT analysis were qualitative methods used in this study. The elite interviews and the development plan demonstrated that Kiruna is planning to build a compact city with mixed land use and public places that are easily accessible. Sherry Arnstein´s ladder was used to study citizen participation where it showed a tokenism participation that includes informing, placation and consultation showing that LKAB is shaping the move. In addition, the SWOT analysis showed that the strength and opportunities of the urban transformation were considerably more as opposed to the weakness and threats. In conclusion, this study can be used as an example for future towns that may be displaced and asses the different problems that may arise due to relocation.