Lack of physical activity among New Zealanders is typically regarded as a serious public health concern. Surveys indicate that a considerable proportion of the population fail to engage in even modest amounts. As well as conferring health benefits, leading an active life can help to build social capital, achieve manual tasks, enhance enjoyment, and reduce traffic congestion and pollution. The research of physical activity in New Zealand is, therefore, important. Many factors influence physical activity behaviour, but traditionally there has been a focus on individual-level behaviour-change approaches. In recent years research has started to focus more on characteristics of physical and social environments, such as provision of cycle paths and development of community social cohesion. Concerned by what I observed to be an over-emphasis by New Zealand agencies on encouraging individual behaviour change, I set out to examine the factors that contributed to the shaping of built and social environments, and their effects on population physical activity. Identifying a gap in the research, I examined these factors via a case study of the Hamilton City Council (HCC). My study employed Foucauldian 'tools' to examine selected HCC documents and interview transcripts with a view to identifying the discourses underpinning local government action with regard to built and social environments and physical activity. In this process I interviewed seven HCC staff members from six relevant departments, including Parks and Gardens, Community Development, and Roading and Transportation. Data was gathered from the staff members using semi-structured interviews, based on pre-prepared guidelines, developed following a review of relevant literature. Relevant HCC strategy and planning documents were selected only after interviews were completed and included their urban design, transportation, creativity and identity and social well-being strategies. I adopted a Foucauldian perspective to analyse the data because I wanted to examine the phenomena of increased physical inactivity by questioning particular 'ways of knowing' and 'truths'. Such an examination, at the level of local government, could help reveal why some cities are more conducive to active living than others. This theoretical approach helped reveal a number of underpinning discourses, including discourses of economic rationality; the council as nurturer; safety and surveillance; participative government; and work efficiency. Key discourses of economic rationality and participative government were pervasive in both the interviews and documents, highlighting the degree to which economic considerations and consultative practices dominate local government actions. My four main findings were that HCC is shaped by and shapes certain discourses; HCC activities are contingent upon many factors outside their control; the creation of supportive environments for active living is a complex task; and, that dominating discourses can silence or obscure other equally valid discourses. These findings gave rise to discursive effects. Firstly, local authority planning, strategizing and action can promote population behaviour control by facilitating resident self-regulation. Secondly, factors outside the control of local authorities can impact on their ability to realise active living goals. Lastly, valid but silenced 'ways of knowing' about physical activity, health, and governance can constrain population physical activity participation. I found that HCC actions were reflective of the discourses identified, illustrating wider societal concerns regarding physical inactivity, obesity, citizenship, economic success, 'democratic' practices, and efficiency. This study contributes to population physical activity research by recognising the value of environmental approaches, but underscoring the need to consider the sources, mechanisms of maintenance, and effects of discourses circulating in local government using appropriate theoretical approaches.

Young people in the Western world demonstrate that they have little connection to democratic processes through their increasing absence from the polls at election time. This trend is evidenced in New Zealand where the secondary school curriculum has little content concerning electoral and political processes. Low voter turn-out is particularly prevalent in the triennial local body elections where only a small proportion of all eligible voters participate.This research is based within two North Shore City secondary schools and has two objectives. The first to establish the current understanding of Year 13 students of the local authority, its activities, governance and decision-making processes and the second to assess the effect of this information on the election activity of the participants. Following the provision of this information to the selected classes and after 2004 local authority elections, the same classes completed questionnaires to ascertain whether their participation (voting and non-voting) in the elections was affected by this intervention. A post-election focus group of non-school-based newly eligible voters enabled some qualitative inquiry into rationale and attitudes.The findings indicate a wide degree of ignorance and reinforce the current political situation where young people see no relevance to them of local authority politics. The research highlights the need to engage young people in civic matters and increase their ownership of and involvement in the democratic process.

A central feature of public sector reform in Australia in the past decade or so has been the introduction of competition into service markets that were previously monopolised by public agencies. The adoption of more competitive strategies by these agencies has usually been accompanied by changes in their organisational culture - found in their structures, modes of operation and in internal and external relationships, as well as in the underlying values orientation of the organisation. The introduction of compulsory competitive tendering (CCT) in local government in the state of Victoria reflected criticisms of the performance of traditional local government bureaucracies and a determination by the state government to secure a change in local government culture. This study investigates the impact of CCT on local authorities in Victoria, and explores the changes to organisational culture that have occurred. It assesses the extent to which the changes are consistent with a 'post-bureaucratic' conception of public organisations. The study presents evidence that cultural change has occurred in Victorian local authorities, particularly in the establishment of new organisation structures, a more entrepreneurial or outward focused orientation, and the development of more market focused and customer oriented service delivery systems. While cultural changes may not have progressed as far as intended by the Victorian government, they represent a more radical approach to local government reform than in other Australian states - so radical that they present a serious challenge to long-held views of the role of local government in the community. The thesis reveals that the new competitive environment may itself generate new problems such as transactions costs and erosion of trust within local councils and enables senior managers to assert stronger control over the council. It is this control, together with the technocratic or top-down approach to reform taken by the state government, which has constrained the development of model post-bureaucratic local government organisations in Victoria. In particular, it seems that senior managers are more intent on reshaping their organisations than in encouraging the greater market responsiveness anticipated in the post-bureaucratic model.

The potential role of local government in NSW to address public health nutrition issues has received encouraging reports. This treatise deals with the question of whether intersectoral collaboration theory is useful to assist development of a relationship with local government to develop food and nutrition policy. Intersectoral collaboration theory describes six conditions necessary for successful action: necessity, opportunity, capacity, relationships, planned action, and sustained outcomes. The project was a feasibility study carried out in a densely populated and multicultural local government area in Sydney�s southwest during April 1998. Eight Council employees and one elected representative were interviewed using the semi-structured questionnaire to collect a range of opinions and knowledge about Council�s involvement in a food and nutrition policy. Conceptual frameworks for the study included the Ottawa Charter and the food and nutrition system. Theoretical underpinning�s were provided by intersectoral collaboration theory and organisational change theory. Using intersectoral collaboration theory, analysis of the interviews revealed that participants were very concerned with conditions of necessity, opportunity and capacity to develop food and nutrition policy. Intersectoral collaboration theory correctly predicted that the action proposed would have to assist Council to achieve their core business, gain social and political support and be possible within the current economic environment and level of other resources available. Participants were not able to identify how a food and nutrition policy would meet these conditions and be feasible within the current capacity of the organisation, and therefore did not become fully engaged in the feasibility study. The health sector needs to develop arguments for local government involvement from their perspective. Organisational change within the heath sector is required to develop capacity for intersectoral partnerships, as an effective strategy to address public health nutrition issues.

The study incorporates work carried out by the Auckland Regional Child and Youth Engagement Project (ARCYE). The ARCYE project is part of the Auckland Sustainable Cities, 'Investing in Child and Youth Development' (ICYD) work strand which began in 2003 and was completed in June 2006. The researcher interviewed officers of the seven cities and district councils in the Auckland region and the Auckland Regional Council, all of whom had a child and youth focus within their organisation. The interviews examined the drivers for youth participation from a local government perspective. They shared their experiences in engaging youth to participate in Council sponsored or supported initiatives. The objective was to find out what the benefits of youth participation were for Councils and also for the participating youth. The research supports the proposition that for the Auckland region's economic growth to be sustainable, the next generation of leaders, skilled workers, entrepreneurs, educators and parents must be critically involved in today's discourse concerning the region's development. Therein is the rationale for local government to engage young people. The research posits that the 'whole of government' (central government and local government with community) focus on investing in child and youth development is not random. Rather it is a strategic effort to prepare young people to become responsive to their region's growth and development. The downstream benefits may see engaged youth as a captive audience being open to influence from adults. The value or benefit of including young people in decision-making opportunities therefore needs to be carefully considered within a context of young people's apparent diminished status within society. Youth participation with local councils needs to be real: Young people participating and contributing to the improvement of their communities. As a corollary youth rights within an adult-controlled and managed society requires careful monitoring to minimise the exploitation of young people by adults.

Thesis (M. P. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

The thesis analyses the fear of the lower classes which manifests itself in various ways in Swedish society and it examines if it is justified. It gives four different views of the "dangerous lower classes" and illustrates the greatly differing view­points that exist. At the national level the debate on The social question in literature, the press and the Riksdag is particularly intensive during the 1830's and 1840's. It concerns the great proletarianising and pauperising of the countryside and its' suggested consequences: criminality, vagrancy, begging, drunkenness, immorality, and ignorance. Then the lower classes "dangerous crimes" are investigated. They consist of the offences of disorderliness and drunkenness. Crimes of violence are infrequent and committed by people from all societys' levels. Property crimes are certainly mainly practised by those in the lower strata, but they are also infrequent and give a clear impression of "crimes of necessity". Neither crimes which are a danger to society nor a revolutionary threat can be perceived. The three parishes studied in Skåne try to close their borders against unmarried pregnant maids, unmarried mothers, "married farmhands" and those with crimi­nal records. A ban on marriages is also used against poor people. Behind this lies a fear of increased poor law expenditure. Those with power seek to carefully control lifestyles, clothing and the sale and consumption of alcoholic drinks. Despite entry controls a concentrated poor population, the Slättafolk, arises in one of the parishes. They live at the margin and some of them, at times, resort to illegal methods in order to stay alive. Thus there is no great threat to property. Neither is drunkenness nor immorality prominent. The analysis gives two different pictures. One occurs in the national debate and partly in the parish records and is a view from above. The lower classes consist of a lower and bad sort of person who must be controlled and discip­lined. Another picture is glimpsed at the micro level. It shows people who live in extreme poverty, sometimes genuine want, but all try, by all possible means, to improve their situation. The lower class people have a desire for justice and equality and resist oppres­sion. There is potential violence which explodes at times. Knowledge of this causes the upper classes to be afraid of the lower, a fear strengthened by events out in Europe where, in Hobsbawms' phrase "The age of revolution" is current. / digitalisering@umu

The purpose of this dissertation is three-fold. First, it explores whether or not experience with strategic planning increases comprehensiveness of the strategic planning process. Second, it investigates the potential impact of comprehensive strategic planning processes on performance. The final rationale for this dissertation is to determine whether the impact varies according to the dimension of performance analyzed. This exploratory study uses a unique data set that combines the performance measures of select local government departments from the International City/County Manager's Association and an original survey of the heads of those departments to determine their strategic planning practices. The dissertation utilizes an evaluative approach by analyzing the practical significance of the potential impact including correlation, differences between groups, and effect size. These analysis taken together can help demonstrate a potential relationship where regression analysis would be inappropriate due to small sample size. The findings justify further studying these questions about strategic planning in the public sector. First, the analysis demonstrates that departments with more strategic planning experience have higher mean comprehensiveness than departments with less experience. Second, though the findings are mixed concerning the impact of comprehensive processes, the majority of the findings support the hypothesis that more comprehensiveness leads to better departmental performance. Finally, the mixed findings demonstrate that strategic planning comprehensiveness impacts different dimensions of performance differently.

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) scramble for Africa which begun in 1980 and 90’s as a result of the introduction of Structural Adjusted Policies (SAP) by the neo-liberalist which are; International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank was purposely meant for free market economy, less government intervention in the economy in order to raise competition, induce rapid growth and economic development. The introduction of SAP resulted to a vacuum in the provision of welfare in Ghana especially in the remote areas. Since the introduction of SAP bilateral and multilateral institutions are increasingly entrusting NGOs to carry out the needs of the people more than government. This has led to a myriad explosion of local and international NGOs in Ghana for development purposes. Though the rural poor are the primary aim for NGOs and District Assembly (DA) activities, they are often the least to be contacted on the implementation and formulation of programs or projects in terms of priorities and interventions. The materials and methods used in the write up of this thesis include field survey, interviews and literature study. Both primary and secondary data was used. Purposive sampling is adopted based on the objectives of the study. Forty households were selected in order to interview project participants since they were expected to have first-hand knowledge of the organizations projects and activities. This was supplemented with interviews with focus group discussion, key informants, international and local NGOs and government officials’ interviews were made. The study emphasized that NGOs suffer from external agenda-setting which makes their programs or projects rigidly defined and create new dependencies. This prevents them from carrying out other actions apart from those initially foreseen in the project or program (not flexible) (top-down). Interventions have not benefited the people and lack of transparency and co-ordination among the NGOs and the DA is a primary problem in the study area. The stakeholders often contribute to an all-ready decided projects or programs and participated in past development programs or projects as laborers. Clientelist has weakened the DA system in Lambussie. There has not been any training for sustainable self-reliant organizations by the nine NGOs operating in Karni. Also it was evident from the study that farmers have not made any collective efforts to improve their marketing situation in the area and neither has NGOs and DA made any effort to improve farmers marketing situation. The study made the following suggestions; access to improved infrastructures, availability of unrestricted funds from donors, education and gender issues, enhancing micro-credit schemes and small scale industries, modernization of agricultural productivity, transparency and accountability—of which would help to improve DA and NGOs activities and achieve sustainable food security in Karni.

Since the declaration of Taiwan Local Self-Government Guidelines, the era of local self-government has launched. Due to the various level of dependence on development among counties and cities in the past, the differences among regions deepened. Besides, under the influences of the political centralization, the urbanization caused by economic development, and the preference on directly governed city region in the term of financial distribution, the distinctive features of the local government have not been fully dominated. Therefore, though the system of local self-government has been implemented for 50 years, the result turns out insignificant under the limitations of laws. In addition, since the Local Government Act was promulgated in 1999, it is considered the important fundamental guideline to fulfill the conclusions of National Development Conference. With the implementation of Local Government Act the county and municipal governments are supposed to be equipped with self-governance laws in the operations of the divisions of personnel, financial affairs, and organizational management, so that they will have abundant resources to exert their functions as self-governments. But six years has passed by since the implementation of Local Government Act, how much does the blueprint of cross-century organization modification law exert its functions ? And what assistance is offered to contribute to the whole development of counties and cities? The answer lies in the voice of self-governments of counties and cities. Based on the above-mentioned grounds, this study has been conducted. This study aims in the discussion of the authorization changes brought by the implementation of Local Government Act. This study plans to set up the implementation as the experimental group, while the situation prior to the implementation as the comparative group. Through the study, it is to be seen whether the implementation of Local Government Act meets the original goal. Tainan City is taken for the example in this case study. Literature review has been conducted in the analysis of the four vital indicators, including the divisions of personnel, organization, financial affairs, and legislature. The impact made on these four divisions are to be discussed. Besides, detailed interview is also the research method. That is, seven municipal councilors and four first-class supervisors are interviewed. Their responses are adopted and analyzed to realize their attitudes toward the reform. How do they feel about the reform? Are there any defects within the reform? Through the experimental survey, the correctness of the above literature review can be examined, and modest modification or reform can be presented properly. On the basis of literature review and the results of conducted interviews, whether the original goals are fulfilled can be proved. Before the implementation of Local Government Act, self-governments have no rights over the matters of personnel, organization, finance and legislature. After the implementation, self-governments turn to have more rights over the matters of personnel, organization, and legislature except over the matters of finance. In conclusion, to enhance self-governance law, fully authorization over financial matters should be offered so that the prosperous future is expected and we will build a better and more vigorous government.