Voter participation among Saskatchewans citizens has decreased in both federal and provincial elections, especially in the past decade or so, and especially among 18-24 year olds. Provincially, turnout has fallen almost 20 percentage points over a four-year period. Saskatchewan voter turnout in federal elections has fallen almost 15 percentage points in a similar time period. The purpose of this thesis is to uncover potential factors that might help to explain why turnout has decreased so markedly. Though a number of factors exist to explain why fewer citizens are participating on election day, this thesis has worked to seek out the explanation in two forms. First, taking into account the civic literacy theory of Henry Milner, this thesis has examined Saskatchewans junior and senior high school curricula in an effort to find changes in the way civics has been taught. Marked changes have iv been found, and differences in the prescribed teaching of civics throughout the years point to the possibility that the way in which civics is taught to students may have an effect on whether they feel a duty or obligation to vote. Second, this thesis has, following the social capital theory of Robert Putnam, concluded through a brief survey of membership numbers in a small number of community and volunteer organizations as well as church attendance and volunteer levels that community involvement may also be a factor in deciding whether to vote. This thesis has concluded that more, duty-oriented civic education is needed in Saskatchewans junior and senior high schools in order to ensure that students leaving the education system feel an obligation to participate on election day and in the community more than they are presently.

This case study was designed to test the hypothosis that members of a residential community, when faced with a large scale development project, hold a broad range of opinions and ideas, rather than a single perspective. These opinions, drawn from a wide range of local experiences, represent a wealth of potential design ideas which may be lost if the development process assumes that public opinion is uniform and homogenous.Accordingly, research proceeded in meetings with the Collier Hills North neighborhood association with the purpose of ascertaining whether or not the the priorities of the community reflected in public meetings during development debate provided an accurate view of the preferences of neighborhood residents, due to the self-selecting nature of the population in attendance. After initial investigations into the perceived agenda of the residents of Collier Hills North regarding potential redevelopment issues surrounding the adjacent Colonial Homes apartment complex, the investigator prepared a survey instru-ment and delivered it in two stages; first, at a neighborhood association meeting, and sec-ondly via a door-to-door survey. Results of the suvey suggest that different priorities are placed on certain key issues by the self-selecting population that attended the meeting than the random sample of residents contacted by the interviewer during the second stage of the investigation. These differences exist in areas which could shape the framework of possible future discussions among residents, the developer and city hall regarding this potential redevelopment program. Results from the survey were then used to create a set of design priorities and strategies with the intention of balancing the needs of the interested parties.

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Ever since the promulgation and implementation of Voluntary Service Act, a new milestone has been laid for the work of voluntary service of Taiwan. The work of voluntary service begins to appear in a diversified style, and the development of voluntary service is more prosperous. In fact, voluntary service can compensate the insufficiency of the government¡¦s public services and social welfare service. Through the promotion of voluntary service, the work of voluntary service for social welfare can be facilitated more generally and completely. The study mainly investigates seven aspects, including the development process of the resource recycling volunteers of Shoutian Temple, Gangshan Township, Kaohsiung County, the altruism and utility theory affecting the participation motives of volunteers, etc. The study also finds out how the team of volunteers faces the social and environmental changes, and understands how the groups of voluntary service carry out their work after the Voluntary Service Act was passed and implemented. Employing the way of qualitative study, the researcher participated in the team of volunteers, observed its work, made in-depth interviews with the volunteers, and studied the focus organizations. Focusing on the analysis of the interview data, the following conclusions are made: 1. The background for the establishment of the team of volunteers was that the Matsu Temple of Shoutian Temple proposed the construction of Houlong Pavilion; 2. The team of volunteers was reorganized according to the environmental change; 3. On the basis of mutual trust, the team of volunteers is able to develop smoothly; and 4. The team of volunteers does not carries out its service according to the Voluntary Service Act. The study has made discussions about the community citizens¡¦ participation of the work of voluntary service, the motives for allowing the community citizens to participate voluntary service, the successful example of this team of resource recycling volunteers of Shoutian Temple, and the actual implementation of the Act of Voluntary Service on the groups of voluntary service. These discussions can be the references for the study of the work of voluntary service in the later days. Finally, the study proposes some suggestions for the amendment of the Voluntary Service Act.

Living arrangements play a key role in affecting participation of people with intellectual disabilities (PwIDs) in the community. Yet, the role of living arrangements in affecting participation has received relatively scant attention, especially from the insider's perspectives. This qualitative study sought to gain an insider's perspective from PwIDs in understanding the meaning of community participation, and the role of different community living arrangements in promoting community participation. Five adults with intellectual disability who were living independently with support were interviewed for this study. A model of full participation was developed to address the relationship between community living and community participation constituting four themes; level and type of support, learning experiences, freedom and choice, and privacy and safety. No gold standard for ideal community participation emerged from the study. Community participation of PwIDs was identified as involvement in meaningful and learning activities as required by the person. / October 2015

<p>The purpose of this study was to examine the level and extent of community participation in the Danga Ecological Sanitation Project carried out in the Zvishavane district of Zimbabwe. The people-centered approach was chosen as a theoretical background. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to gather relevant information. The results indicated that the community was not fully involved in the ecological sanitation project. As a result, the project had a poor performance record. In the course of this study, political interference in community projects carried out in Zimbabwean rural communities, resulting in the failure to reach the intended beneficiaries, was also noted. Full community participation in community projects may ensure that empowerment and ownership take place. Institutional arrangements, which in most cases impede development, need to be readdressed with clear demarcation of decision-making processes.</p>

In New Zealand the development and promotion of sporting events is becoming increasingly popular, due in part to the role of sport in building the nation's identity, the economic benefits, and a growing awareness of the importance of health and fitness within the community. Given this increased popularity it is important that the impacts of these events upon the local 'host' communities be understood. Social impacts have been given more and more attention in recent years by event researchers, due to the recognition that the long term sustainability of such events can only be achieved with the approval and participation of residents. This research addresses these issues in the context of Taupo, New Zealand using the case of Ironman New Zealand.This thesis adopts a mixed method approach using interviews (n=7), participant observation, and a web-survey (n=111). The findings confirm that it is vital to investigate and understand impacts of events on host communities. The findings are also consistent with theories identified in the literature in terms of the nature of social impacts on host communities. The overall results indicate that residents are aware of both the positive and negative impacts of Ironman New Zealand. Respondents highlight positive impacts such as economic benefits, exposure of Taupo, community togetherness, and the encouragement of sports, yet they also recognize negative impacts such as inconvenience from traffic congestion, and road closures. Accordingly, the community was grouped into three distinct clusters with positive, negative and ambivalent perceptions, and were labelled 'Lovers', 'Pessimists' and 'Realists'. The findings further suggest that the use of web-surveying for community research is still in its infancy and needs further development enabling it to be used as an effective tool. Finally it is proposed that small to medium scale sporting event hosted in regional communities may contribute to a sense of community and to the creation of social capital. Further research is needed to confirm this proposition.

A large number of natural disasters affects hundreds of thousands of people each year in their housing around the world. Therefore, there is a call to find more appropriate strategies for housing reconstruction following a disaster. This study aims to reduce the construction time and cost of housing affected by such disasters. The academic literature on the 3 Dimensional Lightweight Panels construction system (3D-LPs), Building Information Modelling system (BIM) and experiences gained in post-disaster housing reconstruction strengthens the argument that here is an opportunity to contribute to solve the housing reconstruction problem. The study points out that the combination of these systems and community participation presents an option to produce both affordable and sustainable housing in the shortest time on a large scale by the affected people after overcoming the emergence phase of a disaster. A holistic philosophy was used to study the housing reconstruction problem as a whole to understand all parts of the problem and three research questions were set up to explore the possible solution to this problem. The research strategy to address the problem was based on a survey of worldwide experts, interviewing a forum of lightweight concrete panel manufacturers and the modelling of a basic housing prototype in BIM. Research question (1) How can displaced people use their own labour to save money and time? and research question (2) How does the 3D-LPs construction system contribute to housing recovery after natural disasters? Research questions (1) and (2) were answered by 17 open-ended questions conducted with 22 housing experts from 11 countries and 7 semi-structured interviews composed of 14 questions with 7 manufacturers of construction materials respectively which collected rich qualitative data (15,419 words) that were analysed in Nvivo 10 through pattern matching and validated by triangulation techniques to give reliability to the study. The housing prototype modelling was used to answer the research question (3) Can the BIM model show the cost-benefit in building housing with the 3D-LPs construction system and displaced people's own labour?The main findings of this study are that a housing prototype built with 3D-LPs is 36.82% cheaper in comparison to houses built with bricks and reinforcement elements and could be built by unskilled people in 90 days. The study provides novel in-depth knowledge of how unskilled people from communities affected should participate in housing reconstruction and how new construction systems can be implemented after disasters, which contributes to the body of knowledge. In addition, the study provides guidelines to implement a system directed at unskilled people and also Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in a novel way, to help to solve the housing reconstruction problem and engage the displaced people in the housing reconstruction.

Current trends have seen a rise in the frequency and severity of disasters on a global scale, with disasters in recent years having some of the most devastating impacts ever seen on the societies they affect. As a result, there are increasing pressures on the Formal Humanitarian Sector (FHS) and their resources, resulting in a growing need to examine the logistical processes essential to humanitarian operations. Existing research within the humanitarian logistics (HL) domain has highlighted a plethora of challenges relating to the efficient and effective delivery of humanitarian assistance to those affected by disasters. Through a systematic literature review, it was discovered that current research predominantly focuses on the activities of humanitarian organisations (HOs); overlooking the social and logistical capacity already present within affected communities. In order to address the gap left by HO-centric HL research, this investigation approaches the challenges of efficient and effective humanitarian assistance from a novel perspective. Drawing upon the notion of Collaborative Aid Networks (CANs), this research explores the role of communities as drivers of HL processes, and of their own relief and recovery. In a field in which empirical data is lacking, this enquiry utilises a constructivist grounded theory methodology in order to gather empirical insights from post-earthquake Nepal. Interviews and observations were conducted over a period of seven weeks, with data being continuously analysed and refined throughout this process. The findings from this research culminated in the development of a theoretical framework which illustrates the interrelationships between CAN characteristics and their outcomes on HL. This study contributes to the emerging debates concerning community participation in disaster contexts, and provides revelatory insights regarding CANs’ unique attributes and competencies, which enable them to positively impact disaster affected communities. In levying CAN support, the FHS could increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their HL operations, whilst improving collaboration and communication between the FHS and the community; in turn supporting the legitimacy and downward accountability of FHS programmes.

M. Tech. / In the past the policy for the provision of low-cost housing was not very effective because the context of the development planning was characterized by fragmentation, segregation and isolation from the targeted communities. The reason for this is that these development programmes were not participatory and that they contributed to dependency rather than empowerment of communities. Selected case studies have shown that without the involvement of the community in planning and decision-making, low-cost housing projects cannot meet the needs and demands of the community for improvement in an effective and efficient way. One of the basic principles of the Reconstruction and Development Programme is that development projects should be people-driven. The policy framework clearly states that ‘delivery systems in housing will depend upon community participation’. This current study sought to determine whether delivery systems in low-cost housing projects have made this paradigm shift – that they are participatory and needs-driven. The study is descriptive and issue-oriented and is limited to understanding the process of low-cost housing provision to newly-urbanised Africans in Soshanguve, a peri-urban settlement in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. Using a semi-structured questionnaire, interviews were conducted with 100 respondents, who were either male or female heads of households. The study gave respondents an opportunity to share their experiences regarding the process of community participation in housing provision.