Kiekvienas iš mūsų susimąstome, apie savo senatvę ir užduodame sau klausimą: kokia ji bus? Ar mes jausimės mylimi, aprūpinti, nepalikti likimo valioje? Ir šioje vietoje pastariems aspektams didelę reikšmę turi sveikatos priežiūros bei socialinių paslaugų teikimo gerinimas. Vienas iš tokio gerinimo pavyzdžių – vykdytas tarpvalstybinis Improving Access to Community-based Services for Older People Living at Home projektas (toliau IACS).Šio darbo tikslas – išanalizuoti vyresnio amžiaus žmonių prieinamumą prie sveikatos priežiūros ir socialinių paslaugų vietos bendruomenėje. Darbo tikslui ir uždaviniams įgyvendinti pasirinkti atitinkami teorinės analizės metodai, tokie kaip: mokslinė literatūros analizė, loginės analizės metodas, lyginamasis teorinės analizės metodas. Empiriniams duomenims gauti Kauno atvejui buvo atliktas kokybinis tyrimas, pasitelkiant pusiau struktūruotą fokus grupės interviu metodą. Praplečiant tyrimą iki tarpvalstybinio lygmens, kvazi-socialinio eksperimento būdu, bendruomeninių paslaugų patirčių palyginimui buvo gauti kokybiniai duomenys ir iš kitų šalių, t.y. Austrijos bei Lenkijos.Darbe pristatyta socialinės atskirties sąvoka, jos mažinimo būdai Europos Sąjungos ir Lietuvos kontekste. Taip pat nusakytas tamprus ryšys tarp socialinės atskirties, senėjimo politikos bei sveikatos, socialinių paslaugų poreikio pagyvenusiems žmonėms.Socialinės atskirties politika formuojama pagal socialinės politikos modelius. Šia prasme pasirinktinai išnagrinėti Lietuvos bei... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Each of us think about our retirement, and ask ourselves the question: what is it? Will we feel loved, cared of, and not left in the hands of fate? At this point, health care and social services improvement is of great importance for the aforementioned aspects. One of the examples of improvement is the conducted international project Improving Access to Community-based Services for Older People Living at Home (IACS).The goal of the present paper is to analyze community’s health care and social services facilities availability for older people. To accomplish aims and tasks that were set, corresponding theoretical analysis methods were selected: analysis of scientific literature, method of logical analysis, comparative method of theoretical analysis. To collect empirical data for Kaunas, qualitative study using semi-structured focus group interview method was performed. In order to raise study to an international level in a quasi-social experiment way and to compare community service experiences, qualitative data were obtained from other countries, i.e. Austria and Poland. The paper introduced the concept of social exclusion and the ways to reduce it the European Union and Lithuania contexts. Strong relationship between social exclusion, aging policy, health and social services available older people was also articulated.Social exclusion policy is formed by social policy models. In this sense, Lithuanian and Swedish social policy models were arbitrarily selected and examined... [to full text]

Participation has been promoted and studied in diverse disciplines including tourism, development, planning, health, politics, and others. In natural resource conservation, the shift from centralized to decentralized decision making which emphasizes community involvement in planning, implementation and monitoring of programs has been broadly encouraged, especially in developing countries. Although considered a more effective alternative to top down decision making, participatory conservation initiatives have been criticized for many reasons, mainly the exclusion of marginalized groups in programs which lead to unequal distribution of socioeconomic benefits. This inequality is conditioned by social, physical and political structures which act as barriers to sustainable development of resources and communities. Using a political ecology approach, this research explored the participation of marginal groups (poor, women, and lower caste) in Nepal's Annapurna Conservation Area. The main objectives of this study are: 1) To examine the perceived benefits of Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) and how marginal groups fare in the distribution of benefits; 2) To analyze the level of participation of marginal groups in local management institutions; and 3) To identify the barriers to participation as perceived by marginal groups. Field work for this dissertation was conducted during August ? October 2010 using both quantitative and qualitative data, and employing participant observation and semi-structured interviews. Results indicate that benefits of the project were distributed unequally, and targeted towards elite members of the community. Findings also indicated that although marginal groups were involved in local management institutions, their representation was marginal and had not led to empowerment. Lastly, barriers to participation of communities were complex and deeply rooted in traditions and social norms. Overall, the findings indicate that the definition of marginal groups go beyond gender and caste, and are more significantly defined by wealth, poverty, education, and access to information. The study concludes that ACAP needs to re-orient its conservation and development projects by adopting a more inclusive form of participation and that these projects should aim to overcome the barriers identified by the marginalized households.

As the civic role of higher education attracts renewed critical attention, the idea of engagement has come to the fore. Civic engagement, as espoused in many institutional missions, encompasses a diversity of goals, strategies and activities. Latterly, these have included particular approaches to teaching and learning. This research examines the process of embedding a civic engagement dimension within the higher education curriculum in Ireland. I use the term ‘pedagogy for civic engagement’as a generic term for a range of academic practices –variously referred to as ‘service learning’or ‘community based learning’–which share an explicit civic focus. Academic practice serves as the central focus with attention to pertinent aspects of the prevailing context. Using a multi-site case study conducted in the spirit of naturalistic enquiry, I examine four cases of this curriculum innovation, drawn from the university and institute of technology sectors in Ireland, with unstructured interviews and documents as the main sources of data. I interrogate the underpinning rationale for ‘pedagogy for civic engagement’–as gleaned from the literature, the policy context and the case studies –exploring implicit conceptions in relation to knowledge, curriculum, civil society, community and the purpose of higher education. The study draws its empirical data from those responsible for implementing this pedagogy –the ‘embedders’–and a range of other actors. Interviews were carried out with academic staff, project directors, educational developers, academic managers and leaders. Key actors from the national policy context and from the international field of civic engagement also participated in the study. Four orientations to civic engagement are identified, revealing the multifaceted rationale. I explore the process of operationalising the pedagogy and the factors impacting on academics’capacity and willingness to embed it. While the study does not directly examine the experience of students and community partners their role within the process, as perceived by academic staff and others, is problematised. The implications of the putative unresolved epistemology of this pedagogy are explored in light of how participants conceive of and practice it. Academics’ambivalence about the place of values in higher education emerges as a theme and the issue of agency recurs. I explore how the pedagogy may be conceived of in terms of the teaching, research and service roles of academics and consider how it may be positioned within an institution. Opportunities for alignment are identified at a number of levels from constructive alignment within the curriculum to alignment with national strategic priorities. I explore the unrealised potential of the Irish National Framework of Qualifications –specifically the ‘insight’dimension –as a means of enabling and legitimising the pedagogy, in light of the prominence afforded to the principle of subsidiarity in Irish higher education policy. The localised way in which these practices have been adopted and adapted underlines the significance of context and culture. ‘Pedagogy for civic engagement’as a concept and as a practice challenges a range of assumptions and traditional practices, raising fundamental questions regarding the role and purpose of higher education –and not just in contemporary Ireland.

Increasing human population and development in Africa restricts land and resources for African elephants (Loxodonta africana) and threatens the preservation of the species. Despite the importance of conservation for many governments in Africa, many local communities have negative views of elephants and exhibit anti-conservation behavior. By looking at the history of wildlife policy in Tanzania, this paper seeks to understand these opinions through a historical context. Three case studies of conservation initiatives were evaluated to determine what aspects of conservation initiatives promote long-term pro-conservation behavior on the part of the local community. Ultimately, conservation initiatives should establish a framework whereby local communities are empowered through conservation.

El Topo, Ecuador, la comunidad en que esta tesis se enfoca primariamente, es un ejemplo de una comunidad que ha acabado las etapas iniciales de un proyecto de ecoturismo comunitario. Esta tesis tiene el objetivo de ofrecer un análisis de los componentes, de pre análisis a evaluación, de un proyecto comunitario de desarrollo sostenible. Si un proyecto de desarrollo sostenible está fallido o insostenible se malgasta el dinero y el esfuerzo. La sostenibilidad de un proyecto depende de la involucración, el apoyo, y la participación de la comunidad en todas las etapas de la planificación, el desarrollo, y la gestión. Por el contexto del ecoturismo y los éxitos y obstáculos del ejemplo del Topo, esta tesis expondrá un marco de componentes claves a considerar para tener éxito y sostenibilidad, con aplicaciones prácticas para proyectos de desarrollo sostenible al nivel comunitario.

Community developers are often solicited to teach essential core concepts and strategies in the field but lack the consensus among their peers on which theories constitute the fundamentals. This study examines leading community development theories, concepts and approaches to establish the essential elements for a weeklong short course. In addition to content research, leading teaching theories were also explored to establish the core methods for teaching such a course. Active learning techniques were utilized to increase student participation in the learning process while building solidarity and capacity in the class. Finally, the short course was taught to a group in Banda Aceh, Indonesia and was evaluated for knowledge and attitude change through pretests, posttests, and journal entries.

The purpose of this research was to determine the potential capacity for improved participation through community-based approaches to small hydroelectric development in the Indian Himalayas. The objectives of the research were: (1) to establish the current roles of the civic, public and private sectors in small hydro development; (2) to examine the potential for learning through participation during the development of small hydro projects; (3) to determine the potential for using community-based environmental assessment in future projects; (4) to investigate the benefits of community-driven small hydro development, and (5) to determine the implications of the findings for environmental policy and decision-making. Data were gathered using Participatory Rural Appraisal methods including semi-structured interviews, transect walks, and landscape analysis. There were five case study projects (Niti, Bampa, Jumma, Malari and Bamini/Badrinath), each in the Indo-Tibetan border region of the Indian Himalayas. The plants are all run of river, and range in capacity from 25 kW to 1.2 MW. Four of the villages had no electricity prior to the development of the small-hydro plants, while one had a prior connection to the state electrical grid (Bamini/Badrinath). The villages are inhabited by Bhotia tribespeople, and are occupied only during the summer growing season. The residents travel to lower altitude villages for the winter months. The most successful project examined, in the village of Malari, was one where community development and energy needs were considered simultaneously, and where the local community was highly involved in planning, construction and operation. The less successful projects were those where community involvement and development, sound planning, and detailed geographic information about the site were lacking in their development and operation; such as was observed in the village of Jumma, where the plant never began operations because it was damaged by an avalanche prior to its inauguration. PLEASE NOTE: As of January 2007 the State of Uttaranchal was renamed Uttarakhand. The change is not reflected in this thesis.

Addressing building energy use is a pressing issue for building sector decisionmakers across Europe. In Sweden, some regions have adopted a target of reducingenergy use in buildings by 50% until 2050. However, building codes currently donot support as ambitious objectives as these, and novel approaches to addressingenergy use in buildings from a regional perspective are called for. The purpose ofthis licentiate thesis was to provide a deeper understanding of most relevant issueswith regard to energy use in buildings from a broad perspective and to suggestpathways towards reaching the long-term savings objective. Current trends inbuilding sector structure and energy use point to detached houses constructed before1981 playing a key role in the energy transition, especially in the rural areas ofSweden. In the Swedish county of Dalarna, which was used as a study area in thisthesis, these houses account for almost 70% of the residential heating demand.Building energy simulations of eight sample houses from county show that there isconsiderable techno-economic potential for energy savings in these houses, but notquite enough to reach the 50% savings objective. Two case studies from ruralSweden show that savings well beyond 50% are achievable, both when access tocapital and use of high technology are granted and when they are not. However, on abroader scale both direct and indirect rebound effects will have to be expected,which calls for more refined approaches to energy savings. Furthermore, researchhas shown that the techno-economic potential is in fact never realised, not even inthe most well-designed intervention programmes, due to the inherent complexity ofhuman behaviour with respect to energy use. This is not taken account of in neithercurrent nor previous Swedish energy use legislation. Therefore an approach thatconsiders the technical prerequisites, economic aspects and the perspective of themany home owners, based on Community-Based Social Marketing methodology, issuggested as a way forward towards reaching the energy savings target.

In this dissertation I focus on the diversity of alternative food initiatives (AFIs) that have emerged amidst concerns about the corporate-led industrial food system. While there have been significant successes, critics suggest that many AFIs are an inadequate response to the complex problems within the food system, and further, are complicit in propagating neoliberal ideals and facilitating the retrenchment of the state. While these critics identify important challenges, they tend to consider place-based AFIs as operating independently on particular projects, with specific claims, or in isolated sectors of the food system. There has been little documentation or analysis situating AFIs within a broader community of practice. To fill this gap, my research builds on the existing literature to investigate the increasing collaborations among AFIs in Canada. Using a community-based action approach, I explore the development of provincial food networks in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia. I pay particular attention to efforts that foster and maintain these networks by exploring their history, structure and processes of collaboration. My findings reveal that the provincial food networks can be characterized as assemblages constituted by the self-organization of diverse actors through non-hierarchical, bottom-up processes with multiple and overlapping points of contact. Further, I find that AFIs have used networks strategically to contest the rules and institutions of the dominant food system and to develop participatory and democratic practices that challenge the logics of neoliberalism. Based on the results from this research, I argue that besides developing viable place-based alternatives to the dominant food system, AFIs are also involved in prefigurative ways of being - establishing democratic governance structures, building new institutions, and engaging in different kinds of social relations - in the belly of the existing (food) system.

Mentally ill patients need to be treated with dignity and their basic human rights must be respected. Community-based interventions are commonly used in many areas after deinstitutionalisation of mentally ill patients. However, it is unfortunate that mental health and mental disorders are neglected in many areas with no proper or standardized services in the community for treatment and support. As a result, most of the mentally ill patients roam in the streets in the rural communities. Exploring community-based interventions in rural areas could assist to improve the quality care of the mentally ill patients. The communities need to be aware of the interventions available to support the mentally ill patients and their family members so that community members who give care to mentally ill patients can be able to identify, implement, monitor and sustain effective interventions to meet the needs of the mentally ill patients in rural areas. Suggestions could also be made to the Department of Health with regard to the community-based interventions in order to improve quality of patient care. The aim of this research was to explore and describe the current community-based interventions for the mentally ill patients as well as explore recommendations by the professional nurses and community caregivers about the utilization of community-based interventions to support mentally ill patients in a rural community. In order to obtain rich in-depth data, a qualitative research approach was followed. A case study design was used to complement the holistic in-depth investigation. Purposive sampling was used to identify professional nurses as participants in the community and snow-ball sampling was used to identify further community caregivers who meet the inclusion criteria. Ethics was considered during the identification and selection of participants. Triangulation of data collection method was undertaken where structured interviews, field notes and documents were used as methods of data collection. A semi-structured interview schedule was formulated which was evaluated by experts in qualitative research. A trial run interview was conducted prior to data collection. Voice recorders were used for the purpose of audio taping the interviews, thereafter the interviews were transcribed and prepared for data analysis. The researcher ensured that field notes were taken immediately after each interview. Data was collected until saturation was reached after ten interviews and analysis of six documents. Data was analysed by means of a written record or transcripts as suggested by Neuwenhuis (2011:89). A specialist qualitative researcher was appointed as a co-coder to analyse the data. The interpretative pattern of data analysis for qualitative data analysis was followed and the guidelines prescribed by Terre Blanche, Durrheim and Kelly (2011:321) were adopted. The identified themes were current interventions and utilizing current suggested interventions. Thus conclusions were drawn in relation to identified themes that with current interventions there are different categories of caregivers that are involved in the care of mentally ill patients in rural communities. Included are the health caregivers, non-governmental organisations, police officers, faith/spiritual healers, traditional healers, families and community members. However challenges were still identified for an example defaulting of treatment, relapse and readmissions of mentally ill patients. With regard to utilizing suggested interventions, participants emphasised more on the need to develop structures in order to support the mentally ill patients in their rural communities and continued community education mental illness and mental health. The recommendations were made to nursing practice, nursing research and nursing education. / Thesis (MCur)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.