This thesis explores participatory design methods and presents the process and the outcomes of a related case study, carried out in collaboration with Vestel Electronics, a Turkish consumer electronics manufacturer, on TV remote controls. The thesis comprises a literature review on participatory design, including its historical background and evolution, the motivations behind its contemporary utilization and the methods, techniques and tools utilized within the approach. The case study comprises two phases. In the first phase, a participatory user workshop was realized with eight middle-aged Turkish housewives. In the second phase, an interactive, computer based design resource was developed by the author, which aims to present the workshop outcomes to designers. The resource was evaluated by the designers of Vestel Electronics and the outcomes are presented in the thesis. Through such a case study the approach of a Turkish in-house design team towards participatory design methods was reached. Moreover, insights about how such a design resource can be developed were gained through designers&amp / #8217 / evaluations.

This thesis examines three uniquely different community engagement methods that explore the relationship between community values and the physical landscape in two Appalachian communities; Austinville, VA and St. Paul, VA. Each community engagement method is 1) introduced via literature review/case study, 2) modified from the case study to suit local conditions, and 3) analyzed for effectiveness in connecting local values and the physical landscape. I then reflected on this academic research through the lens of a three-year employment as a community development and natural asset planner with a 501(c)3 non-profit in southwest Virginia. The professional experience revealed five community systems that impacted the overall effectiveness of community engagement processes and had the potential to position communities, and their public projects, for a higher level of success. The community systems included: Capacity and Readiness, Involvement, Leadership, Communication, Frame of Reference and Community Vision. Research and professional practice together suggested that an intentional effort to understand and incorporate community values via community engagement ultimately led to more meaningful designs in the public sector. / Master of Landscape Architecture

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) positions community members on an equal footing with their academic colleagues and makes them responsible for the decisions which shape the direction and substance of research. The approach is founded on ideals of empowerment and the raising of critical awareness amongst stakeholders while contributing to social and community change. This thesis examines the practice of CBPR; specifically, the inconsistencies between its ideals and the achievement of meaningful outcomes, and its relative absence within health geography. While the thesis relies most heavily on theories of social capital for its conceptual framing, it also draws on three key concepts stigma, and critical and oppositional consciousness. Three CBPR case studies were initiated to uncover the challenges, benefits, and shortcomings of the approach involving people living with HIV/AIDS, persons with disabilities, and residents of social housing. The projects were evaluated using a range of strategies including participant observation, interviews with key stakeholders, questionnaires, and focus group discussions. The implementation of these projects ranged in success from being sidelined by managerial difficulties, community mobilization efforts proving unsuccessful, to a fully realized CBPR case study. ii The case studies illustrate the tenuous position of a researcher engaged in grassroots community mobilization and the need for core levels of social capital to precede the researcher’s intervention. Interviews with CBPR stakeholders exposed the sense of purpose and value of being united against a given cause and even the social benefits of connecting with others. The interviews brought into question the imposition of stringent research expectations upon community members who may face multiple barriers to carrying out research and gain little benefit from the practice. I conclude by suggesting that CBPR is a long way from being the perfect marriage of academia and community, failing adequately to meet the needs of both parties. In particular, the third case study demonstrates that stakeholders are critically aware of issues that affect their lives, their capabilities to carry out research and the roles that the researcher might play. Ultimately, this raises questions about what role CBPR might play in community mobilization, especially when the resources of groups are limited socially, economically and politically. / Thesis (Ph.D, Geography) -- Queen's University, 2007-09-28 16:24:40.67

Participatory budgeting (PB) is worth considering as a planning tool. It makes claims to encourage citizenship (Schugurensky, 2004), spark “transformative community development” (Lerner, 2006) and cultivate innovative forms of governance while improving the accountability of those already in place (Wampler, 2000, 2007; Wampler & Avritzer, 2004). In North America, PB is an overlooked public engagement mechanism that can introduce citizen input into place making and a timely participatory practice. This thesis seeks to understand current PB practice, and to propose a form and function of PB for Winnipeg. Empirical research of three PB examples (Toronto Community Housing, the Neighbourhood Support Coalition in Guelph, Ontario, and the 49th Ward in Chicago, Illinois) contributes to a proposed PB framework for Winnipeg that is tested with members of the community development sector in Winnipeg.

Jurisdictional ownership of all natural resources, including wetlands and river channels, belongs to the state in Bangladesh, and access to and control over wetland resource are determined by the existing top-down, command-and-control, bureaucratic management regimes. Grounded solely in the economic aspects of natural resources, the wetland management objective of the government focuses on rent-seeking to maximize revenues and other economic benefits. At the operational level, this approach presumes bounded and closed economic and social systems and an equilibrial environment. The purpose of this research was to investigate options for institutionalizing participation of stakeholders in wetland (haor) resource management. It was intended to seek alternatives to the state-governed management approach (SMA) and find a means of governance that would encompass multi-stakeholders in the management of natural resources. The specific objectives of this research were to: i) Examine the state-governed management approach and the relationship between formal and informal institutions concerned with access and control over wetland (haor) resources; ii) Analyze, as an alternative to SMA, the processes and structures of stakeholders’ participation and deliberations in decision-making; and iii) Examine the potential for multi-stakeholder governance in wetland resource management. This research selected three development initiatives in Hakaluki haor (major wetland of Bangladesh) for assessment. A set of PRA methods, which included baseline surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, semi-structured interviews, individual discussion meetings, addah (informal chatting with friends and fellows), and workshops, was used during the research to attain the objective of the study. The research findings have revealed that the community-based organizations (CBOs) were capable of contributing effectively to the community-based or co-management approach in wetland resource management. Establishing a multi-level stakeholder governance system as an institutional structure and process is necessary to sustain CBOs’ operations in decision-making. The participation of local resource users would require appropriate degree of integration of the “bottom-up” and “top-down” approaches to include all relevant stakeholders in the decision-making processes at multiple levels of social organizations. This alternative approach could be an effective instrument to facilitate the deliberations of stakeholders and to strengthen institutional linkages to engender benefits to the local resource users.

Participatory budgeting (PB) is worth considering as a planning tool. It makes claims to encourage citizenship (Schugurensky, 2004), spark “transformative community development” (Lerner, 2006) and cultivate innovative forms of governance while improving the accountability of those already in place (Wampler, 2000, 2007; Wampler & Avritzer, 2004). In North America, PB is an overlooked public engagement mechanism that can introduce citizen input into place making and a timely participatory practice. This thesis seeks to understand current PB practice, and to propose a form and function of PB for Winnipeg. Empirical research of three PB examples (Toronto Community Housing, the Neighbourhood Support Coalition in Guelph, Ontario, and the 49th Ward in Chicago, Illinois) contributes to a proposed PB framework for Winnipeg that is tested with members of the community development sector in Winnipeg.

Jurisdictional ownership of all natural resources, including wetlands and river channels, belongs to the state in Bangladesh, and access to and control over wetland resource are determined by the existing top-down, command-and-control, bureaucratic management regimes. Grounded solely in the economic aspects of natural resources, the wetland management objective of the government focuses on rent-seeking to maximize revenues and other economic benefits. At the operational level, this approach presumes bounded and closed economic and social systems and an equilibrial environment. The purpose of this research was to investigate options for institutionalizing participation of stakeholders in wetland (haor) resource management. It was intended to seek alternatives to the state-governed management approach (SMA) and find a means of governance that would encompass multi-stakeholders in the management of natural resources. The specific objectives of this research were to: i) Examine the state-governed management approach and the relationship between formal and informal institutions concerned with access and control over wetland (haor) resources; ii) Analyze, as an alternative to SMA, the processes and structures of stakeholders’ participation and deliberations in decision-making; and iii) Examine the potential for multi-stakeholder governance in wetland resource management. This research selected three development initiatives in Hakaluki haor (major wetland of Bangladesh) for assessment. A set of PRA methods, which included baseline surveys, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, semi-structured interviews, individual discussion meetings, addah (informal chatting with friends and fellows), and workshops, was used during the research to attain the objective of the study. The research findings have revealed that the community-based organizations (CBOs) were capable of contributing effectively to the community-based or co-management approach in wetland resource management. Establishing a multi-level stakeholder governance system as an institutional structure and process is necessary to sustain CBOs’ operations in decision-making. The participation of local resource users would require appropriate degree of integration of the “bottom-up” and “top-down” approaches to include all relevant stakeholders in the decision-making processes at multiple levels of social organizations. This alternative approach could be an effective instrument to facilitate the deliberations of stakeholders and to strengthen institutional linkages to engender benefits to the local resource users.

No description available.

archives@tulane.edu / Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is one of the most common childhood behavior disorders and a frequent reason for children’s and parent’s use of mental health services. Parenting plays a key role in the prevention and treatment of ODD. However, most research on parenting has been conducted with White, middle class families and may not apply universally to urban, racial-ethnic minority populations. Given that specific parenting practices related to the development of behavior problems may vary by population, the current study aims to assess how parenting practices as defined by community members in an ethnic minority, urban, and economically disadvantaged community relate to children’s behavior problems. Participants include 109 youth ages 9-15 and their 109 caregivers from an urban, racial-ethnic minority population. Caregivers completed ratings of their children’s behavior problems. Youth reported on a measure, “Showing Kids Love,” which included three subscales indicating if youth felt love from caregivers, if love was demonstrated to them, and if their father or a father figure was involved in their life. Regression analyses were conducted to determine how these three community-derived indicators of healthy parenting relate to children’s behavior problems. Decreases in youth feeling love were associated with significant increases in ODD symptoms. Increases in love being demonstrated to youth were associated with significant decreases in ODD symptoms. Increases in father or other father figure involvement were associated with decreases in ODD symptoms, though this relationship only approached statistical significance. Findings support the importance of youth receiving warmth and affection from caregivers and highlight the importance of community-based research. Future research should continue to use community-based research to evaluate how parenting practices influence children’s behavior problems. / 1 / Casi Rupp

The failure of the centralized top down approach to management of common pool resources such as forests led policy makers and donors to conclude that devolution of forest management to local communities can be the only solution to such failures. Developing countries have thus resorted to devolution of forest management to forest adjacent communities through approaches such as joint forest management (JFM) and participatory forest management (PFM). PFM is part of the initiative towards devolution of power of management and decision making from government to local communities. Communities therefore self-organize into community forest associations (CFAs) or forest user groups to manage forest resources. In Kenya for instance, the recent and ongoing forest sector reforms as envisaged in the Forest Act (2005) and the Forest Act (2016) led to devolution of forest management through CFAs and provision of incentives such as plantation establishment and livelihood improvement scheme (PELIS), eco-tourism, harvesting of forest products among others. These efforts were aimed at deepening community participation in forest management and improving welfare of forest adjacent communities. However, despite the numerous efforts aimed at empowering communities to sustainably manage forest resources through PFM and provision of various incentives, the success of PFM in terms of efficiency, equity, accountability and environmental outcomes have been mixed. In this thesis, we contribute empirically to the understanding of how PFM can be successfully implemented and make suggestion for more inclusive, equitable and sustainable forest management in Kenya from a micro perspective using household and community level data collected from 22 CFAs in the Mau forest conservancy. We take into account the values and preferences attached to salient forest ecosystem services by local communities and how this can be used to design incentive schemes like PES to incentivize local communities and also influence devolution of forest management. We also assess the impact of existing incentives specifically PELIS on welfare of forest adjacent communities as well as the environment and the heterogeneous impact of the scheme on household welfare. We then look at the context specific factors influencing the varying levels of success among the CFAs. The thesis therefore, comprises of three separate, but related analysis chapters.