This research examines participatory planning processes in rural Egypt, which was deemed successful by the local people. The purpose is to identify elements that caused these projects to be perceived successful. Using the normative participatory planning theory that is usually used in the West as a theoretical context, the research examined three successful development efforts in rural Egypt. Projects' publications and planning documents were reviewed to build a context for interviews. The projects' planners were interviewed for descriptions of their initial designs for the participatory planning processes employed. An opportunistic sampling technique was used to identify local participants who were interviewed for descriptions of their experiences in the planning processes. The analysis suggests that the participatory planning processes implemented had the same stages as the normative planning process in the West. The thick description of the processes by the interviewees revealed subtle elements within the processes that governed the participants' evaluation. Bedouin interviewees viewed consensus as the only valid mode of final agreement in indigenous peoples' decision-making processes. Bedouin participants were found to consider perceptions of time, and choice of space and language used in planning sessions to be extremely important, significantly impacting their evaluation of the process in which they took part. Long sessions that took place locally and were formatted in a traditional Bedouin manner were perceived more successful. Bedouin dialect and Bedouin hospitality employed during sessions also increased the perceived success of planning sessions. Such subtle Bedouin interpretation of elements of social environment guided their perceptions of the success or failure of the planning processes. Government planning agencies and planners should integrate the indigenous peoples' traditional decision-making processes in their designs for participatory planning processes, when planning development projects. Also indigenous people should take responsibility to present their cultural methods to individuals and agencies involved in planning such development projects in their locale. This can lead to a change in the planning culture to engage in more organic, grassroots' processes. Community-based, organic-design processes will significantly increase the likelihood of achieving the full potential of a plan in the short and long term. / Ph. D.

The thesis analyzes regionalism in architecture and its application in kindergarten education. In the theoretical part it defines regionalism, its characteristics, history and contemporary conception on the Czech territory. Urbanism, urban context, meaning of genius loci for the region are explained. Suitable educational methods and art techniques for preschool children. The principles of the project are defined. The aim of this work is to elaborate an art project usable for children in preschool age. It will bring children closer to culture, its importance from an artistic point of view. It develops the visual literacy of children and introduces them to the field of regionalism, urbanism in the context of the given place. Through art goals, specific art tasks and art techniques, children penetrate the foundations of urbanism and regionalism. By explaining the principle of gallery education and the perception of the environment in the exhibition space, they will learn to perceive the works of art with the view of the author, will experience a sense of success. In the practical part is realized project, which is connected to concrete environment. Through the regional context, children learn about the history and present of regional architecture through art activities. The project focuses mainly on...

<p>The general aim of this dissertation is to describe and analyse how public old-age care in Sweden has developed and changed during the last century. The study applies a provider perspective on how care has been planned and professionally carried out. A broader social policy perspective, studying old-age care at central/national as well as local/municipal level, is also developed. A special focus is directed at the large local variation in care and services for the elderly. The empirical base is comprised of official documents and other public sources, survey data from interviews with elderly recipients of public old-age care, and official statistics on publicly financed and controlled old-age care and services.</p><p>Study I addresses the development of old-age care in Sweden during the twentieth century by studying an important occupation in this field – the supervisors and their professional roles, tasks and working conditions. Throughout, the roles of supervisors have followed the prevailing official policy on the proper way to provide care for elderly people in Sweden; from poor relief at the beginning of the 1900s, via a generous level of services in the 1960s and 1970s, to today’s restricted and economy-controlled mode of operation.</p><p>Study II describes and compares two main forms of public old-age care in Sweden today, home help services and institutional care. The care-load found in home-based care was comparable to and sometimes even larger than in service-homes and other institutions, indicating that large care needs among elderly people in Sweden today can be met in their homes as well as in institutional settings.</p><p>Studies III and IV analyse the local variation in public old-age care in Sweden. During the last decades there has been an overall decline in home help services. The coverage of home help for elderly people shows large differences between municipalities throughout this period, and the relative variation has increased. The local disparity seems to depend more on historical factors, e.g., previous coverage rates, than on the present municipal situation in levels of need or local economy and politics.</p><p>In an introductory part the four papers are linked together by an outline of the demographic situation and the social policy model for old-age care in Sweden. Trends that have been apparent over time, e.g. professionalisation and market orientation, are traced and discussed. Conflicts between prevailing ideologies are analysed, in regards to for instance home-based and institution-based care, social and medical culture, and local and central levels of decision-making. ’Welfare municipality’, ‘path dependency’, and ‘decentralisation’ are suggested as a conceptual framework for describing the large and increasing local variations in old-age care. Finally, implications of the four studies with regard to old-age care policy and further research are discussed.</p>

The general aim of this dissertation is to describe and analyse how public old-age care in Sweden has developed and changed during the last century. The study applies a provider perspective on how care has been planned and professionally carried out. A broader social policy perspective, studying old-age care at central/national as well as local/municipal level, is also developed. A special focus is directed at the large local variation in care and services for the elderly. The empirical base is comprised of official documents and other public sources, survey data from interviews with elderly recipients of public old-age care, and official statistics on publicly financed and controlled old-age care and services. Study I addresses the development of old-age care in Sweden during the twentieth century by studying an important occupation in this field – the supervisors and their professional roles, tasks and working conditions. Throughout, the roles of supervisors have followed the prevailing official policy on the proper way to provide care for elderly people in Sweden; from poor relief at the beginning of the 1900s, via a generous level of services in the 1960s and 1970s, to today’s restricted and economy-controlled mode of operation. Study II describes and compares two main forms of public old-age care in Sweden today, home help services and institutional care. The care-load found in home-based care was comparable to and sometimes even larger than in service-homes and other institutions, indicating that large care needs among elderly people in Sweden today can be met in their homes as well as in institutional settings. Studies III and IV analyse the local variation in public old-age care in Sweden. During the last decades there has been an overall decline in home help services. The coverage of home help for elderly people shows large differences between municipalities throughout this period, and the relative variation has increased. The local disparity seems to depend more on historical factors, e.g., previous coverage rates, than on the present municipal situation in levels of need or local economy and politics. In an introductory part the four papers are linked together by an outline of the demographic situation and the social policy model for old-age care in Sweden. Trends that have been apparent over time, e.g. professionalisation and market orientation, are traced and discussed. Conflicts between prevailing ideologies are analysed, in regards to for instance home-based and institution-based care, social and medical culture, and local and central levels of decision-making. ’Welfare municipality’, ‘path dependency’, and ‘decentralisation’ are suggested as a conceptual framework for describing the large and increasing local variations in old-age care. Finally, implications of the four studies with regard to old-age care policy and further research are discussed. / <p>Härtill 4 uppsatser</p>