L’étude de la participation du public à l’élaboration des normes environnementales contribue à l’analyse de la mutation contemporaine de l’action publique. Elle démontre plus précisément que la participation, consacrée sous la forme d’un principe juridique à destination des États et sous la forme d’un droit subjectif à destination des administrés, est appréhendée différemment, mais de manière complémentaire, par les droits international, européens et national. Tenant aussi bien au désir des pouvoirs publics de restaurer leur légitimité qu’à leur volonté d’améliorer le contenu des décisions environnementales, par nature très complexe, la participation vise le perfectionnement des modalités de détermination de l’intérêt général mais n’en change pas la nature intrinsèque. Elle redessine ainsi le fonctionnement du régime représentatif en donnant plus d’importance aux citoyens et aux groupes d’intérêts, sans pour autant faire émerger une réelle post-modernité juridique dans laquelle l’État se contenterait de n’être qu’un simple agent de régulation. Elle est en outre à l’origine d’un renouvellement des modalités de participation politique, les pouvoirs publics créant peu à peu une véritable « trame participative », qui permet au public d’influencer – encore marginalement – le contenu des décisions ayant une incidence sur l’environnement. / The study of Public Participation in Environmental Decision-making demonstrates that participation contributes to Modern state's mutation. International, europeans and french laws offer from now on various perspectives for the public to influence the construction of environmental decisions. If it does not change the nature of the french notion of general interest, it surely modifies the way to elaborate such interest. The study emphasizes more precisely the role of individuals and groups of interest in this new procedural democracy. It underlines furthermore the conditions in which public participation can really satisfy its two main objectives, the legitimization of public action and the improvement of the content of environmental decisions.

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D’une nature juridique que le droit français peine à mettre en valeur, la procédure de consultation constitue une règle atypique qui, plutôt que de constituer une contrainte à l’exercice du pouvoir, doit être perçue comme proposant un modèle aux manifestations du pouvoir de direction de l’employeur. Là où la règle de droit tutélaire interdit à l’employeur de faire, ou, lui dicte une stricte ligne de conduite afin de protéger les destinataires de sa décision, la règle de procédure dresse un processus, un cheminement vers l’obtention d’une décision dont le contenu a fait l’objet d’une concertation avec ses destinataires. La règle de procédure borne le pouvoir de l’employeur sans le brimer. Et, elle intègre ses destinataires dans le processus d’élaboration de la décision patronale qu’ils ont vocation à subir.La diversité des manifestations du pouvoir de l’employeur rend complexe sa définition. La procédure de consultation se perçoit alors comme un outil d’analyse du pouvoir, permettant de le sonder. De la fonction empirique de la règle de procédure ressortent deux catégories juridiques de procédures de consultation : les consultations « sur un projet de décision » et les consultations « sur une politique générale ».Toutes deux bénéficient d’exigences procédurales communes : information précise et écrite, délai d’examen suffisant, réponse motivée de l’employeur aux observations, remise de l’avis, et suite à donner à l’avis. Le schéma de ces exigences procédurales est tourné vers la transformation de l’information en un savoir mobilisable lors d’un échange avec l’employeur sur la pertinence d’un projet de décision ou de stratégies, de politiques de gouvernance. Au terme de cet échange, le comité d’entreprise pourra exprimer un avis selon l’intensité requise par le code du travail : un « avis motivé ».Au-delà de l’aspect pratique que présente la catégorisation opérée, il nous semble que son principal critère de distinction, l’objet du pouvoir appréhendé par la procédure, commande le régime de la sanction civile de leur transgression. Consultations « sur une politique générale » et Consultations « sur un projet de décision » ne peuvent recevoir un traitement uniforme. La particularité de l’objet appréhendé dans certaines décisions ou savoirs par la procédure, a justifié une intervention du législateur, celui-ci décrivant avec plus de précisions les exigences procédurales (on pense notamment aux délais plus longs, à l’intervention de commissions). Autrement dit, elles ne sont pas appréhendées de manière uniforme par le code du travail, comme le laisserait présager la description générale des modalités procédurales opérées par les articles L. 2323-2 à L. 2323-4 C.T. Certains objets plus que d’autres sont aménagés de manière spécifique. Il existerait ainsi une hiérarchie des décisions et savoirs de l’employeur qui serait fonction de la spécialisation de leur régime dans le code du travail (licenciements économiques, transferts d’entreprise, modifications de la structure économique/juridique, etc.). Elle pourrait faire l’objet d’une étude spécifique.La catégorisation proposée induit un parti pris quant à leur hiérarchie. Les consultations « sur un projet de décision », qui captent l’exercice le plus autoritaire du pouvoir, doivent être assorties la sanction la plus stricte. La nullité s’impose comme la sanction adéquate. Elle ne pourra être invoquée que plus rarement dans le cadre de la transgression des règles de consultation « sur une politique générale ». / Literally translated as “enterprise committee”, the French “Comité d’entreprise” (“Works Council” in the UK) owns specific abilities in regard to employer initiatives concerning especially the organization and management of the enterprise: its consultative competence. Rather than a constraint on the exercise of power, the consultation process must be seen as offering a model for demonstrations of the power of the employer. Where the “tutelary law” prohibits employers to do, or dictate a strict course of action, the procedural rule provides a process, a path to obtain a decision whose content has been discussed with its recipients, the workers. The procedural rules limit the power of the employer without bullying it.The consultation process can also be perceived as a category of analysis, a tool for describing the various ways in which managerial prerogatives are exercised by the employer. Thereby, two legal categories of procedures for consultation are emerging: consultations "on a draft decision" and consultations "on policy." Consultations "on a draft decision," which capture the most authoritarian exercise of power, must be accompanied by strict enforcement. The invalidity of the decision seems to be the appropriate sanction.

Yes / Most research on Employee Involvement (EI) has focused on large or 'mainstream' organizations. By adopting those schemes which 'appear' to work well in larger organizations, then smaller firms assume there will be enhanced employee commitment beyond formal contractual requirements. The main question in this paper is whether EI schemes designed by management will suffice under the 2004 Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations. It focuses on SMEs which tend to favour informal and direct EI, and it remains unclear how these methods will be played out under the new regulatory environment. Evidence from four case studies is presented here and it suggests that the ICE Regulations impose new challenges for smaller firms given their tendency to provide information rather than consult with employees. It also appears organizational factors, workplace relations history and the way processes are implemented at enterprise level may be far more important than size itself.

Text in German / Church consultation has established itself in different manners in germany over the last 30 years. Most institutions of church consultation are methodologically bound to organisational development. The different kinds of church consultation are shown in a survey. Subsequently the ,,Zentrum für Organisationsentwicklung und Supervision" is investigated in view of the missionary relevance of church consultation. The tensionfull relation between social sciences and theology is found out as one of the central aspects of the estimation and the praxis of church consultation. It is shown, that the missiological perspective of contextualization is able to enrich the missiological relevance of church consultation. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M.Th.

One of the most pressing and polarizing issues in Western Canada today, and for many First Nations groups in particular, is the oil sands of Alberta. My thesis is entitled Energy Uncertainty: The Effects of Oil on the Woodland Cree First Nation. My research is focused on understanding how long-term energy extraction affects the past, present, and futures of the members the Woodland Cree First Nation (WCFN) who are demanding an active role in the planning and consultation processes that affect their lives and their traditional lands. I have found that the energy consultation process is not working for the interests of the WCFN and the effects of oil extraction in this community are examples of how and why it is not working. During the summer of 2013 I spent nine weeks in the WCFN community and used three methods of research: participant observation, interviews, and literature analysis. I completed 22 interviews during my field work research, and made use of nine transcribed interviews with WCFN elders collected in 1995 by Rhonda Laboucan. I used a grounded approach to the content and thematic analysis of my interview and field note data. My thesis is guided by a political ecological approach because this framework challenged me to look at this subject from many angles and perspectives. This approach has kept my research from being narrowly focused on abstracted or stereotypical aspects of the energy extraction process which I cannot understand without attention to its social, political, environmental, and spatial aspects. The body of my thesis includes three chapters which explore: • The practical realities of energy consultation and its relation to Treaty Eight and Traditional Knowledge. • The complex relationship between temporality, fatalism, and the effects of the oil industry on the people, land, and animals of the WCFN. • A detailed ethnographic description of the events and processes that followed a contaminated water spill on the WCFN traditional land. My key findings include: consultation is not working for the interests of the WCFN; oil is impacting the animals, environment, and WCFN community; oil-related spills are affecting (but not being dealt with in a way that respects) WCFN people or land; and there are problems with collection, interpretation, dissemination, and even access to energy extraction and consultation information. My research helps to fill the gaps in our understanding of the complex effects of long-term energy extraction on small communities, in particular the impacts of oil and oil sands development in a small First Nations community context.

Telemedicine delivers healthcare between geographically separated locations using medical expertise supported by communication technology. Physicians and specialists from one site can provide diagnosis, treatment and consultation to patients at a remote site. This makes the use of telemedicine particularly affective in rural and remote areas that have limited access to healthcare services. This study identifies the factors that affect the use and adoption of telemedicine in developing countries and rural areas in general, taking the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Syrian Arab Republic as cases studies. We have developed two guideline frameworks to be applied to telemedicine projects at the pre- implementation phase. The main purpose of the guideline frameworks is to assess the readiness of the Jordanian and Syrian health care system to use telemedicine and to assist any healthcare provider who is considering implementing a telemedicine project in either of these two countries. The guideline framework can be transferred and applied to any other country for which similar circumstances apply. Our guideline frameworks are based on interviews with key stakeholders including doctors, technicians, engineers, and decision makers, and administering questionnaires to further key stakeholders including patients, ensuring that we gain opinion from people from different backgrounds and with different roles in the healthcare system. Our research has identified specific key issues which inhibit the use of telemedicine: poor technology infrastructure; lack of funding; lack of IT education; insufficient training for clinicians; doctors’ resistance; patients’ resistance; and lack of knowledge about healthcare and technology. This work provides a clear idea of the current readiness in both countries and proposes two guideline frameworks that will aid the use of telemedicine. Their dissemination will create awareness and spread knowledge, which will help the decision makers to appreciate the potential role of telemedicine and help them to facilitate the process of introduction and so spread telemedicine in both Jordan and Syria.

Consulting the public in policy making is a statutory obligation for Scottish local authorities but ‘traditional’ forms of public participation such as public meetings are not considered to be effective for engaging a representative range of citizens. Developments in ICT have led to speculation about the impact of technology on citizen involvement in political participation with some arguing that eParticipation could attract a wider range of participants than ‘offline’ mechanisms. This thesis presents the findings of an exploratory study examining eParticipation initiatives in Scottish Local Authorities. The focus of the research has been to identify the extent to which eParticipation is being used and the benefits and drawbacks of these methods. In addition, the research investigated the enablers and barriers to the development of eParticipation in local authorities. Rather than examining eParticipation as a discrete phenomenon, the research examined the broader consultation strategies of local authorities and what role, if any, eParticipation plays within it. A grounded theory approach was adopted which utilised a combination of qualitative methods. Further, an analytical framework was developed based on Dahl’s criteria for ideal democracy to develop a conceptual understanding of how eParticipation is being used in Scottish local authorities. While it was found that Scottish local authorities were using eParticipation tools, their use was rather limited and the vast majority of tools identified and analysed were electronic questionnaires. Respondents reported that they foresaw eParticipation tools being used more extensively in future but in combination with ‘offline’ forms of participation and most did not report positive opinions on dialogic forms of eParticipation such as online discussions. The research findings show that eParticipation does not overcome many of the problems that lead to lack of public participation in policy making although some members of the public may to prefer to participate electronically for reasons of convenience.

Depuis quelques décennies, la consultation en contexte organisationnel constitue une pratique professionnelle importante. L’efficacité de la consultation est l’un des enjeux de la pratique tant pour les clients que pour les consultants. Certains auteurs ont développé des modèles pour comprendre le processus de consultation et ses composantes. La documentation sur l’efficacité de la consultation fait ressortir la contribution de la relation client-consultant comme facteur explicatif. Toutefois, peu d’études se sont penchées sur le lien statistique entre la relation client-consultant et l’efficacité de la consultation comme pratique globale. Cette recherche s’intéresse à la relation client-consultant telle qu’exprimée par ses activités (variable indépendante) et à leurs portées sur l’efficacité de la consultation organisationnelle (variable dépendante) telle qu’évaluée par des clients. Les bases théoriques et empiriques en contextes clinique et organisationnel portent à croire qu’il existe une relation positive significative entre ces deux variables. Ainsi, pour cette étude, une hypothèse est posée : les activités de la relation client-consultant sont en relation de façon positive avec l’efficacité de la consultation telle qu’évaluée par le client. Cette étude a été menée auprès de 88 clients. Les données utilisées pour cette étude ont été recueillies en un seul temps de mesure avec deux instruments combinés dans le questionnaire CERCC-CL édité sur Internet, via Survey Monkey, et crypté pour assurer la sécurité et la confidentialité des données. Les résultats révèlent que la relation se décline en quatre dimensions : 1) entente professionnelle; 2) réciprocité; 3) soutien du consultant et 4) compatibilité personnelle. L’hypothèse est en grande partie corroborée; trois dimensions de la relation, soit (1) entente professionnelle, (2) réciprocité et (4) compatibilité personnelle, influencent la qualité d’une démarche de consultation, l’un des deux critères de l’efficacité et l’efficacité de la consultation dans sa globalité. La compatibilité personnelle (4) influence les résultats à valeur ajoutée, le second critère de l’efficacité. Le score global de la relation client-consultant permet de prédire de façon significative les deux facteurs d’efficacité de la consultation et l’efficacité globale. L’ensemble de ces résultats apporte un premier éclairage sur la contribution potentielle de deux nouveaux questionnaires permettant au client et au consultant de s’évaluer en cours de processus ou à la fin de celui-ci. Les résultats contribuent surtout à la considération et à une meilleure compréhension de l’importance de la relation client-consultant pour expliquer l’efficacité d’une intervention. La relation client-consultant selon la perspective du client, principal acteur à satisfaire, favorise une vision positive du mandat. Pour le consultant, cette étude fait valoir l’importance de miser et de parfaire ses habiletés relationnelles indépendamment de son domaine d’expertise s’il veut être efficace dans sa pratique de la consultation.

This dissertation analyses the biofuel debate in the UK, focusing on how the UK Government has deployed expectations to legitimise its biofuel policy. The analysis builds on the sociology of expectations, integrated with insights from the multi-level perspective (MLP) on socio-technical transitions. By the end of the 1990s, a sustainable paradigm permeated UK road transport policy opening a space for biofuel policy to emerge. In the second half of the 2000s, disagreements among UK stakeholders over the translation of EU biofuel targets into UK biofuel policy prefigured later EU-wide discussions over limiting targets for first-generation biofuels. Biofuels critics disagreed with the UK Government and biofuels supporters over how to protect a space for future second-generation biofuels, which were expected to overcome the harm caused by currently available, but controversial, first-generation biofuels. The UK Government and biofuels supporters defended rising targets for available biofuels as a necessary stimulus for industry to help fulfil the UK’s EU obligations and eventually develop second-generation biofuels. By contrast, critics opposed biofuels targets on the grounds that these would instead lock-in first-generation biofuels, thus pre-empting second-generation biofuels. I argue that these disagreements can be explained in relation to the UK Government‘s responsibilities relating to “promise-requirement cycles”, whereby technological promises generate future requirements for the actors involved. Further, I claim that the UK Government’s stance reflects what I call a “policy-promise lock-in” – i.e. a situation in which previous policy commitments towards technology innovators of incumbent technologies (currently controversial and potentially driven by several imperatives) are officially justified as necessary for the development of preferable emerging technologies. Finally, my analysis expands the focus of the sociology of expectations, which has hitherto mostly been used to investigate expectations from technology innovators – i.e. scientists or industrialists – by investigating how other types of actor mediate expectations among different parties, in particular, public authorities, industry associations, consultancies, and non-governmental organisations.