This article studies the role of participation in the budgeting process when the company has to coordinate two interdependent divisions. The focus lies on the design of the budgeting process (top-down vs. participative budgets) and the underlying supply of information. This is studied in a principal agent model where two divisions (agents) jointly generate earnings. With the participative budgeting process, the company (principal) implements an information system that provides the division managers with private information. Two economic effects occur. First, the company can benefit from the division managers' private information by perfectly coordinating the divisions' operations. Second, the company has to induce the managers to provide productive effort and with participation, to additionally report truthfully. Thus, the company incurs incentive costs. The two considered budgeting processes trade off these effects diametrically. For a low importance of coordination, the company prefers the top-down budgeting process and not installing an information system that allows the managers to obtain private information. Otherwise, the participative budgeting process is used. In contrast to the company, managers always prefer the participative budgeting process. In addition, the model predicts that a higher earnings potential increases the attractiveness of participative budgets.

Parent involvement is as an important contributor to students' academic and social success in school. However, parent involvement at a suburban public K-4 school has lagged, specifically in activities that have been shown to have a positive influence on student achievement. The purpose of this study was to examine parents' perceptions about their involvement in school activities as a means of identifying strategies to increase their engagement. A conceptual framework based on Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler's motivational constructs for involvement guided this study. The research questions focused on parents' perceptions of their participation, reasons for and against engaging in school activities, and what the school could do to support their involvement. A purposeful sampling method was used to select participants from among 3rd and 4th grade parents. A basic qualitative design was used to capture the insights of 9 parent participants through individual interviews. Emergent themes were identified through open coding, and the findings were developed and checked for trustworthiness through member checking, an audit trail, reflexivity, and rich descriptions. The findings revealed that parents perceived teachers and administrators should welcome their involvement, create events that recognize parent challenges, and engage parent support. A professional development project was created to provide teachers with strategies to develop effective parent-teacher teams. This study has implications for positive social change by providing a structure to increase parent involvement in constructive and purposeful partnerships with teachers and the school. This in turn could positively influence students' academic journey and achievement.

In spite of oil wealth, modernization, and high female educational attainment, the International Labor Organization cites female labor force participation in Kuwait as lower than other high-income countries, world averages, many non-Arab Islamic countries, and some gulf countries such as Qatar and the UAE. These statistics suggest a lack of female participation and agency in development of Kuwaiti society. As Kuwait and other gulf countries create economic strategies to move from dependency on natural resources to the development of skilled and innovative labor, the gap between high educational attainment and low labor force participation must be explored. With a grounded theory approach, this study uses statistical analysis and other secondary data, along with ethnographic methods of observation and in-depth interview with over 56 participants, to identify the social, economic, and political forces shaping the demand and supply of female labor in Kuwait. This research argues that increasing a womenâ"u20ac™s freedom (capability + agency) to participate economically, as well as politically and socially, increases their wellbeing and the sustainable development of their country. Therefore, research also considers Kuwaiti female agency in society for overall participation in sustainable development. To foundationally inform this study, interviews and observations seek a basic understanding of the Kuwaiti woman's experiences, as well as her definitions and perceptions of freedom. Interestingly, research finds two administrations in Kuwait record female LFP at least 18% higher than ILO estimates - discovery backed up by interviews and observations. These numbers not only include the high number of non-Kuwaiti female workers, but Kuwaiti women working in public, private, and informal markets. In addition, the number of Kuwaiti women entrepreneurs in home-based and other small businesses is increasing and becoming important to the economy, but is largely undocumented - suggesting female LFP in Kuwait may even be higher than administrations report. These findings suggest significantly greater female participation in the labor market than reported by international organizations, contradicting stereotypical views of disempowered Middle Eastern women - a view perhaps too often accepted without question by western research and society. Implications of research show potential for growth in the Kuwaiti female labor market within the private sector. / 1 / Shea Bradley Garrison

Abstract not available

Despite the large number of studies of organisation culture, there are still gaps in the current literature, in particular concerning the way in which culture is defined, how values are disseminated and reinforced, and how employees contribute to culture change. This thesis examines these gaps via research carried out in two local councils in New South Wales, namely Wollondilly and Wingecarribee Shire Councils, specifically focusing on their tourism departments. The research reports on the following: how organisation culture is defined and shaped in an organisation; the values of an organisation and how they are disseminated and reinforced on a day-to-day basis; and, the contribution employees make to culture change. Moreover, the thesis will examine the organisational members own definition of culture as a way of examining some of the definitions in the literature. The data for this study comprises interviews, questionnaires, surveys, personal observation and secondary sources. The study demonstrates council staff’s views on culture, and how culture is defined by, and embedded in, an organisation. Through examining the organisation members’ own views of culture, values and their participation, the thesis aims to contribute to the literature on organisation culture by more closely aligning definitions from the literature with empirical data from case studies of organisations / Masters in Commerce (Honours)

This research explores the constraints to youth participation through the mechanism of the National Youth Roundtable. In 1999 the National Youth Roundtable was established as the centrepiece of the Federal Government's `Voices of Youth' initiative, designed to go to the grass roots of the youth population and seek their participation on matters of policy development. This was to be the new interface between young people and the Australian government, replacing the peak body for youth affairs as a more effective participation mechanism.

<p>The aim of our research in this study, which has a qualitative attempt, is to investigate participation concerning to a few co-workers in the old-age care. The co-workers experience of participation and their definition of participation, and how participation is related to our different themes. Our themes are the present and wanted assumptions, to make participation possible. Further more does this study discuss participation in relation to the themes communication, competence education and to physical and psychic health. The method we used was primary semi-structured interviews and some observations. Some documents were used to increase our own understanding of the respondents´ situation in their daily work. The result showed that some participation was experienced, but not in the entire organization.</p>

<p>The aim of the study was to investigate nurses’ perception about patients’ participation in medicine treatment and how to make the patient participate. A qualitative method was used and six nurses were interviewed. The nurses’ perceptions of patients’ participation in medicine treatment were characterized especially by patients having good knowledge about their medicines. Therefore, the nurses considered it important to be well-informed about the effect of the medicines. Furthermore, everyone believed that giving information on the basis of the patient’s knowledge-level and answering questions from the patient were important nursing care. The result was considered a less anxiety and more satisfied patient who is compliant to medicine prescription, so that unnecessary hospital admissions could be avoided. However, information is occasionally followed-up. Other measures were to explain and give motivation for treatment. The nurse is available to the patient and notices effects of the treatment that can be drawn to the doctor’s attention. The way to communicate and cooperate with the patient is considered important but dialogue is not common and sometimes the patient’s opinion is not requested. Moreover, it happens that the nurses prove to have a paternalistic attitude. Obstacles that were mentioned were lackof time, dementia, certain diseases and urgent situations. The nurses meant that respect should be shown if patients do not want to participate. Conclusion: The patient participation and influence ought to be strengthening by the nurses’ attitude of the advantage that the patient participates in his own care. Wrong approach by the nurses need to be changed in favour of patients influence. Besides, all leaders at all levels in the healthcare sector, need to be organized in order to facilitate patient participation of the best quality.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, June, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 223-241)

The aim of our research in this study, which has a qualitative attempt, is to investigate participation concerning to a few co-workers in the old-age care. The co-workers experience of participation and their definition of participation, and how participation is related to our different themes. Our themes are the present and wanted assumptions, to make participation possible. Further more does this study discuss participation in relation to the themes communication, competence education and to physical and psychic health. The method we used was primary semi-structured interviews and some observations. Some documents were used to increase our own understanding of the respondents´ situation in their daily work. The result showed that some participation was experienced, but not in the entire organization.