published_or_final_version / Social Work / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Without change, stagnation is inevitable. Never has this truth been more obvious than during the current epoch of industrial decline in North America. This research provides two economic narratives that exemplify the struggles of industrial communities as they strive to regenerate. The research involves a comparative analysis of the transformation of two steel cities, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Hamilton, Ontario, from 1970 to 2008. For cities in which one major industry has formed the foundation of the local economy, job losses can result in massive dislocation and devastating consequences for individuals, families, and communities. Pittsburgh and Hamilton are among many cities striving to diversify and strengthen their economies as manufacturing diminishes and Western sunset industries rise in the East. Transformation has been much more extensive in Pittsburgh than in many cities because Pittsburgh was so largely dominated by the steel industry and faced a virtual collapse of that industry. Hamilton has also experienced a steep decline in steel and related manufacturing jobs. Based on 55 interviews with city leaders, including a pilot study in Welland, Ontario, this research examines eight critical factors that collectively influence development: transformational leadership, strategic development planning, civic engagement, education and research, labor, capital, infrastructure, and quality of life. The study looks at how city leaders drive these factors in the context of global economic forces to revitalize their communities. Together, these elements combine to create the new economy of cities. To achieve successful transformation, the elements must function as part of an integrated system─a community economic activity system (CEAS). This research is grounded in MacGregor-Burn’s (1978; 2003) transformational leadership theory and positions local leadership as the central driver of economic regeneration. It highlights the importance of enduring social relations among leaders for creating an organized, yet dynamic, base of power that is necessary to mobilize resources and execute development policies to achieve qualitative change. Moreover, it points to the importance of inclusiveness and openness in engaging local citizen groups in order to build trust and confidence that recovery will happen. Pittsburgh and Hamilton offer many examples of successful partnerships that increasingly involve public-private-nonprofit-academic collaboratives.

"The thesis is concerned with the intricacies and problems of community leadership in a metropolitan environment, and the work with a state governing agency that oversees all work done within its jurisdiction...The thesis consists of the history and function of the junior college movement in the United States, the history of Dallas County Junior College from the time it was just an idea up to March 15, 1966, and brief statement of the future course of this vast undertaking." -- leaf 1

Com a intenção de contribuir para os estudos na temática da liderança sob a perspectiva das relações que se estabelecem em organizações sociais, essa pesquisa trata de transformações psíquicas e sociais a partir da lógica do cotidiano e das histórias cruzadas de pessoas que lidam diariamente com as consequências das desigualdades sociais em suas vidas. Tendo como primeiro plano as histórias e perspectivas de cinco mulheres de dois empreendimentos solidários da cidade de São Paulo, o Ângela de Cara Limpa e a União Popular de Mulheres do Campo Limpo e Adjacências, o processo foi sendo elaborado ao longo das interações que se estabeleceram entre nós. A pesquisa foi realizada a partir de entrevistas e observação participante e a perspectiva adotada na análise foi a das singularidades de cada história e de cada empreendimento. Essas histórias, ainda que únicas, permitem observar situações e sentimentos, bem como transformações e possibilidades de futuro, marcados por diversas contradições. As reflexões tratam de quatro principais tópicos de análise: identidade, Economia Solidária, reconhecimento e liderança. A identidade é observada como um processo permanente de formação e transformação, a partir de condições materiais e históricas dadas. Nessas condições, desigualdade social e desigualdade de gênero são marcadores presentes, influenciando constantemente nas percepções individuais, coletivas e nas tomadas de decisão em relação a suas vidas. A Economia Solidária surge como uma alternativa à falta de emprego, renda e qualidade de vida. Embora a busca primeira a essas organizações seja pela renda, é a solidariedade que se mostra mais presente nas histórias. A solidariedade também é um dos muitos aspectos que favorece a luta pelo reconhecimento no processo de busca de pertencimento na sociedade. A reinvindicação de direitos e sentir-se entre iguais, são alguns dos fatores que aparecem na luta por reconhecimento dessas mulheres. Por fim, as lideranças mostram-se não como a única fonte de inspiração e manutenção dessas iniciativas sociais, mas são fundamentais, deixando suas marcas e inspirações, e sendo marcadas e inspiradas por outros, num processo de construção constante. Mais do que buscar direções únicas, essa pesquisa traz possibilidades e perspectivas para a atuação com comunidades e mulheres. As conclusões e recomendações para o campo apontam a perspectiva das relações e do compromisso na busca pela redução das desigualdades sociais / Seeking to contribute to studies on the leadership theme from the perspective of the relationships established in social organizations, this research deals with psychic and social transformations based on the logic of daily life and the cross stories of people who deal everyday with the consequences of social inequalities in their lives. The interactions established among us made the process exclusive. The stories and perspectives are about five women from two solidarity economy enterprises in the city of São Paulo: Angela de Cara Limpa and União Popular de Mulheres do Campo Limpo e Adjacências. The research took place from interviews and participant observations. The analysis adopted the perspective of the singularities of each story and each organization. These stories, although unique, allow us to observe situations and feelings, as well as transformations and possibilities of the future, marked by several contradictions. The reflections deal with four main topics of analysis: identity, solidarity economy, recognition and leadership. Identity observed as a permanent process of formation and transformation, given material and historical conditions. Under these conditions, social inequality and gender inequality are present markers, constantly influencing individual, collective perceptions and life decision-makings. Solidarity economy emerges as an alternative to lack of employment, income or quality of life. Although the first search in these organizations is for income, solidarity is the main present aspect in the stories. Solidarity is also one of many aspects that favors the struggle for recognition in the process of seeking belonging in society. The claim of rights and feel equal, are some of the factors that appear in the struggle for recognition of these women. Finally, the leaderships are not the only source of inspiration and maintenance of these social initiatives. They are fundamental in leaving their marks and inspirations, and being marked and inspired by others, in a constant construction process. More than seeking unique directions, this research offers possibilities and perspectives of working with communities and women. The conclusions and recommendations point to the perspective of relationships and commitment in the search for the reduction of social inequalities

Thesis (M.Dev.) --University of Limpopo, 2013 / The study was conducted to examine the impact of the implementation of the comprehensive rural development programme, President Zuma referred to it as the integrated rural develooment in is presidential inaugural speech in 2009. The researcher went to Muyexe village to conduct the research as well as to observe what took place. The researcher interviewed community members as well as community leadership who indicated how the community has been transformed to what it was, which they described a squalor living condition to what it is today, a community that meets the most basic needs required for sustainable livelihood. The people of Muyexe owe their changed fortunes to the government’s Comprehensive Rural Development Programme developed and coordinated by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform. Sector departments and other development agencies were mobilised to work together towards a common goal to improve the lives of rural people. The intervention brought numerous changes to the community of Muyexe village. The lives of the community has been improved, through the intervention the community now have access to health care, early child hood development centre, community multi community centre, and so forth. The community spoke fondly of the reduction in crime and the killings of their cattle by wild animals; the reduction is caused by the establishment of the police station and the fencing around of the village. Despite what had been achieved by the intervention, Government should regard what happened as an initial intervention to focus on meeting people’s basic needs, especially food security. The next step should be the entrepreneurial stage and large scale infrastructure development.

Thesis (M.A. (English Studies)) --University of Limpopo, 2012 / The mini dissertation seeks to explore the positive and negative qualities of an indigenous African leader as presented in a variety of oral texts including folktales, proverbs and praise poems as well as in the African novels of Mhudi, Maru, Things Fall Apart and Petals of Blood in order to deduce an indigenous African concept of a leader. This research is motivated by the fact that although researchers and academics worldwide acknowledge that it is very difficult to objectively define and discuss the terms ‘leader’ and ‘indigenous leader’ yet many tend to dismiss offhand such indigenous concepts of leadership as ubuntu as primitive, barbaric and irrelevant to modern institutions without examining them in detail.

The purpose of this study was to describe and record the experiences of people of color in a community leadership development program. Selected people of color were asked to describe their experiences as participants in the American Leadership program in Tacoma-Pierce County in the State of Washington. The American Leadership Forum (ALF) is a national leadership development program that is dedicated to joining and strengthening established leaders in order to serve the public good. ALF has 13 chapters throughout the United States, one of which is in Tacoma-Pierce County. Ten graduates of the year-long program were participants in the study, all of whom resided, at the time of the study, in that local community. The participants shared stories of their common experiences. These stories were compared to reveal the similarities and differences among them. While their personal backgrounds, familiarity with leadership theory, and careers revealed considerable differences, common themes emerged from the interview data. The research identified the following themes of their perceptions of the ALF participation: networking, relationships, community commitment, leadership development, personal transformation, family, connectedness over time, diversity, and community impact. The emergent themes reflect the positive perceptions of the participants' experiences, as well as their disappointments and concerns. They also represent the attitudes and opinions that were most deeply impacted by the ALF experience, as evidenced by their stories. The findings suggest community leadership development programs have the ability to: 1) Enhance professional networks and encourage relationship building 2) Empower leaders by developing their leadership capacity 3) Develop the image of a positive, centered self as a significant part of effective leadership. The findings also suggest considerations for the planning of leadership development programs that include: 1) Time for reflection and sharing 2) Relationship building among the participants of color 3) Balancing competing needs for time (i.e., work, involvement in the community, and meeting family obligations) 4) A mentor component 5) A learning environment that acknowledges and draws upon the diverse wealth of knowledge and experiences brought by the participants 6) Time for meaningful dialogue on ethnic and racial diversity. Recommendations for further research on leadership development and ethnic and racial leadership are included. They include intensive studies in leadership development, leadership development programs, and promoting and sustaining diverse communities. / Graduation date: 2004

The objective of the Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) initiative is to enhance biodi versity conservation through approaches which balance the needs of local communities reliant upon natural resources, with national and international needs in conservation. This is achieved by addressing the imbalances in the distribution of costs and benefits in natural resource man~gement (NRM). So those who live with natural resources should receive benefits for their effort in conservation. Once there is a benefit stream associated with a resource, communities can then be involved in NRM as a long term strategy. In this way sustainable use of resources is promoted. For successful CBNRM, there has to be a vehicle for eliciting community participation and involvement through planning and decision making. In a communal property management regime, there exist sanctions and rewards for conserving/managing the resource. For community management to be successful there has to be an authority which protects the local rights and ensures that duties are fulfilled . This authority has to be local and national. Within the national context, the authority defining rights and duties in NRM is determined by the institutional framework in which the CBNRM initiative operates. At the community level, community leadership institutions are the authority protecting the rights and enforcing duties. Local leadership gains legitimacy from the wider institutional structures and from the community. How community leadership functions determines largely the structure and functioning of the CBNRM initiative locally. The case study of Kanyurira Ward, a community involved in a CBNRM initiative, namely CAMPFIRE in Zimbabwe, attempts to find out the role of leadership within the evolving institutional structures in shaping the functioning and structuring of the initiative. Analysis of the historical progression of leadership within the community and the community perceptions on leadership selection, monitoring and evaluation, legitimacy and the distribution ofcosts and benefits between the community and the leadership were used to identify the salient factors for effective and efficient local leadership in CBNRM. 11 The study showed that local leadership effectiveness and community expectations of leaders influence performance based on understanding of the leadership role and objectives of the CBNRM initiative. The environments in which CBNRM programmes operate have forced the community to change its leadership selection and monitoring criteria over time. External agencies have their own role expectations for local leaders based on their organizational goals and objectives. These different leadership role expectations place undue pressure on leaders. Community perceptions on cost -benefit distribution within CBNRM programmes affect the sustainability of the programme as they can be an incentive or disincentives to follow NRM rules. Changes in the institutional structures within the communities due to government policies have resulted in overlaps and conflicts in roles of traditional and modem political leadership. Though traditional leadership does not have formal legitimation, it has community acceptance and has persisted over the years. Approaches within CBNRM, need to be evaluated within the community's and leaders world view so that they can address any imbalances and mismatches in role, status and benefit expectations before negating on the CBNRM objective of community participation with benefits for sustainable NRM and development. / Thesis (M.Env.Dev.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1998.

Without change, stagnation is inevitable. Never has this truth been more obvious than during the current epoch of industrial decline in North America. This research provides two economic narratives that exemplify the struggles of industrial communities as they strive to regenerate. The research involves a comparative analysis of the transformation of two steel cities, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Hamilton, Ontario, from 1970 to 2008. For cities in which one major industry has formed the foundation of the local economy, job losses can result in massive dislocation and devastating consequences for individuals, families, and communities. Pittsburgh and Hamilton are among many cities striving to diversify and strengthen their economies as manufacturing diminishes and Western sunset industries rise in the East. Transformation has been much more extensive in Pittsburgh than in many cities because Pittsburgh was so largely dominated by the steel industry and faced a virtual collapse of that industry. Hamilton has also experienced a steep decline in steel and related manufacturing jobs. Based on 55 interviews with city leaders, including a pilot study in Welland, Ontario, this research examines eight critical factors that collectively influence development: transformational leadership, strategic development planning, civic engagement, education and research, labor, capital, infrastructure, and quality of life. The study looks at how city leaders drive these factors in the context of global economic forces to revitalize their communities. Together, these elements combine to create the new economy of cities. To achieve successful transformation, the elements must function as part of an integrated system─a community economic activity system (CEAS). This research is grounded in MacGregor-Burn’s (1978; 2003) transformational leadership theory and positions local leadership as the central driver of economic regeneration. It highlights the importance of enduring social relations among leaders for creating an organized, yet dynamic, base of power that is necessary to mobilize resources and execute development policies to achieve qualitative change. Moreover, it points to the importance of inclusiveness and openness in engaging local citizen groups in order to build trust and confidence that recovery will happen. Pittsburgh and Hamilton offer many examples of successful partnerships that increasingly involve public-private-nonprofit-academic collaboratives.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate and assess whether the community based program, Decafé, is accomplishing its purpose to build leadership and socialization skills in youth.