Sustainable development is the modern rhetoric to guide environmental or natural resources management. There are many ways to do this and one concern the wider utilization of economic instruments, such as taxes or levies. Although such levies are becoming common in Australia and worldwide, the role of the taxes or levies is still limited. In many cases, these taxes/levies -although environmentally related- have a fiscal rather than a purely environmental motive, for example, the Natural Resources Management (NRM) Levy in South Australia. In South Australia, under the NRM Act 2004, all property owners are required to pay the NRM levy. Local governments collect the levy and distribute it to the relevant NRM board. The NRM boards have selected to calculate the levy on the basis of property value or simply applied a flat rate. The percentage of property value or the amount of the flat rate can vary amongst local government areas. How a tax or levy is designed should be determined by its ultimate purpose. Taxes or levies for fiscal and/or redistributive reasons should be designed in a way securing stable inflow of revenues, such as, levying on the values of property. However, this approach is often in sharp contrast with the goal of environmental taxes or levies which aim to change resource consumption behaviour. This study evaluates the NRM levy policy in South Australia using one NRM region and focussing on the urban community. The justification of this research is that few analyses of the effectiveness of environmental taxes or levies have ever been carried out, although the implementation of these measures has increased significantly during the last decades. There are fewer studies analysing the impacts of the tax or levy base method. This is the first study on this NRM levy policy from the perspective of the urban community who actually pay it. This study employed the Theory of Reasoned Action (Ajzen & Fishbein 1980) to examine the relationships between community attitudes to the levy policy and water consumption behaviour. Data was collected through a web-based survey with 770 respondents who answered 59 questions. The key findings show that governments are perceived to have the main responsibility for water resources management by respondents. However, there is huge information void towards the NRM levy policy. Community has few complaints about the levy level but strongly prefers to have a levy calculated on the volume of water consumed. Respondents also indicated that they would use less water if the levy were calculated on the volume of water consumed. The study makes contributions to relevant theory and policy analysis. Theoretically, the results show that the theory of reasoned action has limited strength in explaining the present research context. Practically, the study provides recommendations for policymakers and practitioners in South Australia, other Australian States, and internationally. The clear implications of the results suggest that if a tax or levy aims to change water consumption behaviour then it should be based on the volume of water consumed not on property value.

This study investigated 15 child care centres to find out their responsiveness to the needs of families from non-Anglo backgrounds. Results of this study showed a need to improve service quality in child care to best serve the needs of children from non-Anglo backgrounds. Forty Filipino, 15 Cambodian and 30 Sudanese families were involved in this study.

Orientador: Maria Teresa Miceli Kerbauy / Banca: Maria Cristina de Senzi Zancul / Banca: Darlene Aparecida de Oliveira Ferreira / Banca: Norma Felicidade Lopes da Silva Valencio / Banca: Rodrigo Constante Martins / Resumo: Apesar da maior relevância adquirida nas últimas décadas, o debate ambiental global promovido nas grandes conferências patrocinadas pelas Nações Unidas tem encontrado dificuldades para se transformar em ações concretas para a sustentabilidade. Contudo, contribuiu, nos níveis mais locais, para a criação de novos arranjos institucionais e novas formas de planejamento cuja tônica é a participação, a democratização e a descentralização dos processos políticos como requisitos à sustentabilidade - o que chamaremos nesse trabalho de "governança ambiental". A ideia que norteia este trabalho é a de que o envolvimento e a participação democrática dos atores sociais são fundamentais para incorporar maior legitimidade e eficiência às políticas públicas, especialmente àquelas que se relacionam com a temática ambiental, deslocando o eixo das discussões e da tomada de decisões de um aparato estatal-tecnocrata para espaços socialmente mais representativos. Assim, o alcance do planejamento e das políticas ambientais dependeria da qualidade da interação e das sinergias entre os representantes do Estado e a sociedade civil - a formação e os efeitos dos estoques de capital social. A participação dos atores sociais, propondo parcerias na gestão pública, pode contribuir para uma discussão mais democrática e propositiva com o Estado. Através de um estudo de caso sobre o Conselho Gestor das Áreas de Proteção Ambiental Cabreúva, Cajamar e Jundiaí, realizado entre os anos de 2006 e 2009, pretende-se compreender as possibilidades e os limites da gestão compartilhada em Unidades de Conservação de Uso Sustentável com base nos pressupostos teóricos do capital social, considerando os inúmeros interesses envolvidos no processo e as próprias dificuldades inerentes aos debates efetuados em espaços participativos e plurais / Abstract: Though in the past few decades the global debate on the environment has gained an increased relevancy in United Nations sponsored conferences, this has not resulted in concrete actions toward sustainability. Still, it has contributed to sustainability-enhancing transformations at the local level. Such changes include the creation of new institutional arrangements and ways of planning that stress participation, democratization and decentralization of political processes. In this work, I will call such changes "environmental governance." This work is guided by the principle that the involvement and democratic participation of social actors are vital for the increased legitimacy and efficiency of public policy, especially that which relates to the environment. This principle shifts the focus of discussions and decision-making from a technocrat-state apparatus to more socially representative spaces. With this shift, the reach of planning and environmental policies would arise from the quality of the interaction and synergy between the representatives of the State and the civil society - the development of a stock of social capital. The participation of social actors, proposing partnerships in public management, can contribute to a more democratic discussion with the State. A case-study on the Management Council of the Cabreúva, Cajamar and Jundiaí Environmental Protection Areas, carried out between 2006 and 2009, provides the basis of this work. The analysis aims to understand the possibilities and limits of shared management in the Units of Sustainable Use Preservation, using theoretical assumptions of social capital and taking into account the numberless interests included in this process and the difficulties which are inherent to the debates in participatory and plural spaces / Doutor

Author deals with possibility of making communal family policy in Prague. Author shows the drafts, how such kind of policy can be developped. The first part of this study offers analysis of conteporary stage in the several levels - stakeholders analysis, where the key stakehlders, their attitudes, reciprocial relations and ways of communication are marked out. Another part of analysis is the comparison analysis - the specific characteristics of the city districts are analysed, as well as the characteristisc of the regions and the Capital of the Slovák Republic, Bratislava. The secondary data are ušed as well as the primary data derived from the author's research. The second part of the study deals with the designs of the communal family policy in Prague and the description of the policy tools, according to the findings another methods are ušed - e.g. construction of the problems and goals trees and the future scenarios. There are many supplements in the study, mainly the tabs, schemes and other materials in the appendix.

Indigenous language rights in Canada have been historically marginalized, with the residential school system being integral to their attempted erasure. These schools stripped indigenous children away from their homes to undergo forced assimilation grounded by colonial language policy which saw the indigenous peoples as impediments to their progress. The schools have since closed and the Canadian government has apologized for their role, deeming them as part of the nation's grim history. This paper explores how this shift in discourse occurred and what it says of Canadian language policy. Using critical discourse analysis, nexus analysis, and language management theories to analyze historical government data, the results find that initial shifts in discourse were superficial, while more contemporary discourse marked a unanimous shift away from past ideology. Colonial language policy was discontinued with this stark discursive change, yet despite vocal support for indigenous languages rights, the long lack of actual policy suggests that lingering colonial legacies of language values may be firmly rooted in Canadian society.

The recently established National Assembly for Wales (with the vision of a “truly bilingual Wales”) and bilingual schools are but two major sites in which bilingualism is reconstituting and repackaging Welsh. By close examination of the discourse(s) of language policy texts, the public discourse of one bilingual secondary school and the discussions of four focus groups composed of pupils from the same school, this study identifies three types of discourse which are particularly salient in contemporary Wales: a globalising discourse, a nationalist discourse and an ecology-of-language discourse. By collating the data from focus group discussions, language use questionnaires and language diaries, this study also identifies three categories of bilinguals based on their reported language use: Welsh-dominant bilinguals, English-dominant bilinguals and ‘floaters’ (balanced bilinguals). These three categories correlate with how individuals discursively construct Welsh and bilingualism. However, the medium of the focus group discussions (English or mixed-medium Welsh) correlates more closely with the category that is dominant in each focus group. With performativity theory as a framework, bilingualism is to be seen as a dynamic phenomenon, which is constantly being performatively (re)constituted through the situated practices of bilinguals. In short, this study examines how bilingualism in Wales is being performed, i.e. both how it is discursively constructed by various players in various sites, and how it is formed through everyday bilingual practices, not least those of young people in bilingual education. / Den nyetablerade rådsförsamlingen National Assembly for Wales (med en vision om ett ”verkligt tvåspråkigt Wales”) och tvåspråkiga skolor utgör två av de viktiga arenor där tvåspråkighet omstöper och ompaketerar walesiskan. Genom en närmare granskning av diskursen i språkpolitiska texter, den diskurs som används av en tvåspråkig skola i sina kontakter med allmänheten samt de diskussioner som förs i fyra fokusgrupper med elever från samma skola identifierar den här studien tre diskurstyper som är särskilt framträdande i dagens Wales: en globaliseringsdiskurs, en nationell diskurs och en språkekologisk diskurs. Genom att sammanställa data från diskussioner i fokusgrupper, enkäter om språkanvändning samt språkdagböcker identifierar studien också tre kategorier av tvåspråkiga elever utifrån deras angivna språkanvändning: tvåspråkiga med walesiska som starkare språk, tvåspråkiga med engelska som starkare språk samt ”floaters” (balanserat tvåspråkiga). De här tre kategorierna överensstämmer med hur individerna diskursivt konstruerar walesiska och tvåspråkighet. Det språk som talas i fokusgrupperna (engelska eller walesiska med engelska inskott) korrelerar däremot med den kategori som dominerar i varje fokusgrupp. Med performativitetsteori som utgångspunkt framstår således tvåspråkighet som en dynamisk företeelse, som ständigt (om)skapas genom de tvåspråkigas situerade praktiker. I korthet visar den här studien hur tvåspråkighet i Wales görs, det vill säga både hur den diskursivt konstrueras av olika aktörer på olika arenor och hur den formas av vardagliga tvåspråkiga praktiker, inte minst bland unga i tvåspråkig utbildning.

The thesis offers a comparative analysis of language policies in the EU and India. Specifically, it examines the role of power and ideology in the formulation and implementation of language policies. The need for this thesis emerged in view of the lack of comprehensive comparative analyses of language policies which leads to epistemological gaps, including one-dimensional narratives of language policies, and theories which are lacking in precision. In light of these gaps, the thesis undertakes a comprehensive investigation of policies in eight policy domains (administration, legal safeguards for minority languages, law, education, media, healthcare, business, and social welfare) in the EU and India and in two case studies each from the EU (Luxembourg, Wales), and India (Manipur, Tamil Nadu), chosen on the basis of maximum and minimum deviation from the EU's and Indian policies. The study examines policy texts (statutes on language use in these polities), and contexts which concern the historical and socio-political factors underpinning language policies. The thesis makes three important contributions. First, it marks a break from the prevalent understanding of power in macro-level policymaking. Research to date has tended to view power as a monolithic entity, while this thesis offers evidence that power and ideology are not uniform across policy domains. Second, it bridges the text-context divide of language policy research by conducting an investigation of policy-related legislation, and highlighting the importance of texts in understanding language policies, as they reflect the changes in power structures through time. Third, the thesis proposes a new analytical concept for investigating language policies, Categories of Differentiation (COD). Categories of Differentiation refer to the sets of binaries which underpin language policies in the aforementioned case studies. These binaries include the hills-valley divide (Manipur), the Dravidian-Aryan divide (Tamil Nadu), and the autochthonous-allochthonous divide (EU) among others. Language policies have often been described as 'multilayered', and COD offer a systematic approach to exploring these multiple layers. Overall, the thesis demonstrates how comparative research aids understanding of language policies, and sets out a possible theoretical framework for conducting it.

Changes in juvenile justice are often attributed to increases in offending and media attention to crime. A "cycle" of reforms, which alternate between punitive and treatment type responses has been identified. This study explores the possibility that wider socio-political events also have implications for reforms. Nations in which welfare and juvenile justice systems are highly integrated, may exhibit different patterns of policy change than those observed elsewhere. Changes in juvenile justice policy in New Zealand and Sweden are examined. The implications of policy change for the rights and responsibilities of those involved in the juvenile justice system are also examined. This includes the State, juvenile offenders and their parents and the victims of crime. Particular attention is given to the status of parental rights.

Local festivals and cultural events, signage and streetscape improvements, and regional marketing efforts indicate that tourism is present in some Business Improvement Areas (BIAs). However, the extent and form of this relationship has never before been examined in the North America context. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the involvement of Ontario’s BIAs in tourism. It reports on the findings of a 2008 province-wide survey of approximately 260 BIAs, touching on a variety of topics, including: the proportion of BIAs that are involved in tourism, the factors prompting them to attract tourists, the ways that they promote themselves to tourists, the types of tourism experiences that they offer, the positive and negative impacts of their tourism efforts, and whether they partner with other stakeholders in tourism promotion efforts. The data are then used to propose a typology of Business Improvement Areas showing differing levels and forms of tourism involvement. The thesis concludes by considering four case studies of successful tourism-oriented BIAs (Downtown Kingston, Downtown London, Downtown Yonge and Creemore), which are examined to identify the characteristics that have led to their success. The findings show that the majority of Ontario’s Business Improvement Areas are involved in tourism, using diverse methods to promote themselves as destinations. Their tourism offering usually includes special events and festivals, but can also involve investments in other attractions. Although BIAs are aware of both positive and negative impacts from tourism, tourism management efforts are uncommon. Seven characteristics of successful tourism-oriented BIAs are identified: innovation, self-awareness, appearance, attractions, partnerships, experiences, and planning. BIAs that strongly manifest these characteristics are believed to be likely candidates to benefit from the tourism industry.

Local festivals and cultural events, signage and streetscape improvements, and regional marketing efforts indicate that tourism is present in some Business Improvement Areas (BIAs). However, the extent and form of this relationship has never before been examined in the North America context. The purpose of this thesis is to explore the involvement of Ontario’s BIAs in tourism. It reports on the findings of a 2008 province-wide survey of approximately 260 BIAs, touching on a variety of topics, including: the proportion of BIAs that are involved in tourism, the factors prompting them to attract tourists, the ways that they promote themselves to tourists, the types of tourism experiences that they offer, the positive and negative impacts of their tourism efforts, and whether they partner with other stakeholders in tourism promotion efforts. The data are then used to propose a typology of Business Improvement Areas showing differing levels and forms of tourism involvement. The thesis concludes by considering four case studies of successful tourism-oriented BIAs (Downtown Kingston, Downtown London, Downtown Yonge and Creemore), which are examined to identify the characteristics that have led to their success. The findings show that the majority of Ontario’s Business Improvement Areas are involved in tourism, using diverse methods to promote themselves as destinations. Their tourism offering usually includes special events and festivals, but can also involve investments in other attractions. Although BIAs are aware of both positive and negative impacts from tourism, tourism management efforts are uncommon. Seven characteristics of successful tourism-oriented BIAs are identified: innovation, self-awareness, appearance, attractions, partnerships, experiences, and planning. BIAs that strongly manifest these characteristics are believed to be likely candidates to benefit from the tourism industry.