The study assess the roles played by cooperative societies’ savings and loans services on members’ economic condition, standard of living and in meeting participants financial needs in rural locations where there is no bank nor other formal financial providers. Using a combination of interview, focus group discussion and questionnaire techniques, the study covers the activities of cooperative societies located in rural communities and villages outside the state capital and local government headquarters where there is no electricity, water and tarred road in Ogun State, Nigeria. From its findings, this study identified and discussed potential areas for the improvement of cooperative societies that could be of benefit to rural finance providers and the cooperative members. The study is the first empirical investigation in Nigeria that focuses on the relevance of cooperative societies on members’ standard of living in rural communities and villages. The study shed light on how rural communities function – how their relationships develop, how individual esteem is increased, how interdependence grows, how hierarchies are maintained – and how this is facilitated in part by the loan-making of members promoted cooperatives. It has also provided more evidence on the importance of land ownership, and how this is enhanced when rural communities have access to cheap and affordable loans. It has also provided insights into the development of rural businesses, how complex they are, and how they require more input than the financing received through cooperative loans. The study breaks new ground in informal cooperative functioning, community development and rural finance research by providing a distinction between standard of living and quality of life variables in measuring the economic condition of rural dwellers, and the production of circle of social capital theory that the role of cooperatives to the members involve financial capital, physical capital and social capital which are interrelated. This helps to appropriately identify the roles of cooperative societies in rural finance to increase in household income, ownership of household assets and acquisition of enterprise assets. However, participation in the cooperative does not lead to enterprise profitability, while rural financial needs are more accessible from cooperatives than other sources.

More than half of the human population will be living in urban areas in 2008, of which 81 percent will be in poor areas of towns and cities of the developing world. Governments of most African cities are unable to provide the urgently needed sanitation facilities amongst other services. The informal sector (small independent providers) rather than externally supported efforts provide the majority of household sanitation facilities. The commonly held assumption amongst sector professionals is that partnership with the informal private sector to develop the sanitation market is a sustainable way of increasing access to improved sanitation in low-income urban areas. This research assesses the capacity of small independent providers of sanitation services (SIPS) to up scale and accelerate the delivery of improved sanitation. The thesis adds to an · improved understanding of the capacity of small independent sanitation providers to upscale the delivery of improved sanitation and answers the following questions: what is their level of knowledge, skills and experiences of various sanitation options?; what are house owners' preferences?; and what are their experiences of obtaining sanitation services from small independent providers?. The research adopted a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methodologies in order to ensure the validity and reliability of the findings. The field work was conducted in the three municipalities in the city of Oar es Salaam, Tanzania. The thesis concludes that small independent providers have the potential to upscale the delivery of improved sanitation facilities but not without capacity building, particularly in the areas of developing appropriate sanitation technologies; appropriate enabling environment (infrastructure to support hygienic emptying and sludge disposal, and effective policy and regulatory framework) and support with demand generation. The implications of the research highlight the need to integrate any SIPS capacity enhancement and 'official' involvement in sanitation provision as part of an urban improvement programme. The recommendations from the thesis outline key support areas for the respective SIPS typologies, and the responsibilities of the various stakeholders (government, NGOs, donors) and SIPS. Potential areas of further research include development of appropriate sanitation technology for low-income urban settlements and creating an effective enabling environment.

The purpose of this study was to determine if leadership training, given to informal leaders, had a positive effect on manufacturing productivity. The leadership attributes of informal leaders were assessed using the Leader Attributes Inventory (LAI). Furthermore, the performance of informal leaders was measured using the Leader Effectiveness Index (LEI). Non-management employees from various departments in a manufacturing facility were placed in one of four experimental groups. A Solomon four-group experimental design was employed. A one-group pretest-posttest design was used to control threats to internal validity. The one-way analysis of variance procedure (ANOVA) was used to determine if there were statistically significant increases in manufacturing productivity of informal leaders. Findings suggested that training increased the manufacturing productivity of informal leaders. The increased productivity indicated that leadership training could help manufacturing facilities increase their productivity without capital expenditures. Findings did not indicate a statistically significant difference in leadership attributes. Findings also suggested there were no significant differences in the manufacturing productivity between employees with high leader attributes and low leader attributes. Based on this study, leadership training, given to non-management employees, may yield gains in manufacturing productivity.

Männliche Jugendliche mit Migrationshintergrund werden in öffentlichen und politischen Debatten häufig pauschal zu einer Problemgruppe stilisiert und in wissenschaftlichen Diskursen werden ihnen u.a. Schwierigkeiten bei der Identitätsbildung attestiert. Vor dem Hintergrund, dass männliche Jugendliche mit Migrationshintergrund insbesondere in informellen Kontexten (d.h. außerhalb des Vereins) äußerst sportaffin sind, setzt sich die Dissertation mit dem informellen Fuß- und Basketballspielen von marginalisierten jungen Männern aus einem traditionsverwurzelten Migranten-Milieu auseinander. Im Mittelpunkt der qualitativ angelegten Studie steht dabei die Frage, welche Sinnperspektiven die jungen Männer mit dem informellen, selbstorganisierten Sporttreiben verbinden und welche Bedeutung der Sport bei der Arbeit an der Identität (einschließlich der Geschlechtsidentität) einnimmt. Auf Grundlage von leitfadengestützten Interviews sowie ethnographischen Gesprächen und Beobachtungen werden sowohl die narrativen als auch die durch körperliches Bewegungshandeln erfolgenden (unbewussten) Identitätskonstruktionen und -darstellungen nachgezeichnet, und es wird die besondere Struktur dieser kleinen Lebenswelt beleuchtet. Dabei zeigt sich, dass der informelle Sport für die 13 untersuchten Hauptschüler eine Gegenwelt zur Lebenswelt Schule darstellt, insofern sie hier nicht nur Kompetenzerfahrungen machen können, sondern zudem die ihnen relevanten symbolischen Kapitalien „Respekt“ und „Ehre“ ‚erwirtschaften‘ können. Die Möglichkeit, im informellen Sport identitätsstärkende Erfahrungen zu machen, steht vor allem im Zusammenhang mit der besonderen Struktur des Sports, infolge derer die Jugendlichen bspw. den Sinnrahmen der Aktivitäten selbst bestimmen können und positiv konnotierte Sonderrollen (z.B. die Rolle des Sportvermittlers) einnehmen können. Darüber hinaus veranschaulicht die Untersuchung, dass insbesondere die Jungen mit muslimischem Hintergrund den Sport funktionalisieren, um in ihren Familien zumeist vorherrschende dominanzorientierte Männlichkeitsentwürfe und damit einhergehende hierarchische Geschlechterverhältnisse zu reproduzieren. Damit kann der Sport zwar als zentraler Identitätsstabilisator beschrieben werden, er leistet jedoch zugleich einen Beitrag zum Tradieren von althergebrachten Männlichkeitsentwürfen.

The city of Xalapa, like many Mexican cities, does not count with any sort of official recycling program. Resource recovery relies on the work performed by the informal recycling sector and often, such work is neglected by the local government. In line with this, the aim of this study is to evaluate if a participatory resource management is a more suitable option than the current approach; so that the informal recycling sector can be included into the formal waste management system. In order to do so, this study employed a case study method using qualitative data; during the month of field work in Xalapa, semi- structured interviews and observation were the techniques used for collecting data. Concepts such as informal economy, participatory resource management, network theory and waste management were employed to analyze the organization and operation of the formal and informal waste management systems. Drawn from the results and analysis, it was presented that the informal recycling sector in Xalapa is composed of 5 different types of actors. Some of these actors are organized, while others work independently. The study revealed that their income is related to their capability of accessing to infrastructure and resources. This access to infrastructure and resources takes the form of a secondary materials trade hierarchy where the income of an actor depends on their ability to add value to their recovered materials. Additionally, organized actors tend to be less prone to manipulation and exploitation. Furthermore, it was deemed relevant to look at the current policies and regulations as well as to the action plans proposed by the local government for alleviating the solid waste crisis in Xalapa. It was identified that to consider a participatory resource management approach, several barriers need to be overcome; these barriers lie within the governance and social spectrum. However, despite the identified barriers, the current waste management system has opportunities for creating a more inclusive and socially just municipal solid waste management system.

Usually bubbling under the surface of the ordinary everyday routines of life, women’s volunteering in their communities, helping out and just doing what needs to be done, represent a significant phenomenon in sustaining and developing human life and civilization. Embedded within their everyday community action is a dialectical learning and cognitive praxis which informs their situated public care practice. Grassroots peacebuilding is dependent on the efforts of volunteers. As well, volunteering itself is a means for building social cohesion, solidarity and trust—factors fundamental to sustainable development and peace. Rural women’s community involvement is situated within the everyday of their diverse communities. There is diversity both within and between rural communities; as well rural women represent a diverse group in regards to age, race, class, ethnicity, language, marital and family status, ability, and religion. Blending participant observation and in-depth interviewing, this ethnographic study explored rural women’s community involvement practice and learning in South-Central Manitoba. This study invited women from across the region; representing a mix of age, race, education, ability, ethnicity, religion and areas of involvement, to share their stories of being involved in their communities. Their narratives revealed a rich story of women’s peacebuilding for individual and community wellbeing fitting into a tradition of rural women’s community development. As well, their learning narratives revealed a situated community involvement learning within the action and reflection of being community involved. / October 2016

Este texto se basa en la investigación "Vivienda como generadora de ciudad en Latinoamérica: asentamientos informales en Lima-Perú", llevada a cabo en el Departamento de Urbanismo y Ordenación de Territorio, de la ETS de Arquitectura, de la Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, con el apoyo del Plan Propio de Ayudas al Personal Investigador en Formación de la UPM, en colaboración con la Facultad de Arquitectura de la Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, en Lima. / Los asentamientos informales en Lima surgen de la colocación de casas de estera en el desierto, en condiciones de precariedad y pobreza. Sin embargo, en estas siete décadas de existencia se han transformado en barrios relativamente integrados a la ciudad y con un considerable nivel de desarrollo. En esta investigación se describe cómo se ha generado un tejido urbano donde los procesos habituales de planificación, de la gran escala a la pequeña, de la ciudad a la casa (urbanización-parcelación-edificación) se ven invertidos encontrando, en esta inversión, el mecanismo clave de su desarrollo. La casa de estera, en origen el único material para asentarse en el territorio, se convierte, más allá de un techo para sus ocupantes, en una estrategia para crear ciudad. La vivienda es taller o tienda, aportando esos usos al tejido urbano; cambia de funciones según las necesidades de los habitantes; crece a medida que se densifica el barrio, muta su tipología (de unifamiliar a colectiva) o de carácter (de rural a urbana) cuando el asentamiento pasa de pueblo a barrio. La casa crece al tiempo que crece la ciudad que forma; ambos se transforman mutuamente y esta simbiosis confiere al tejido su dinamismo y capacidad para evolucionar. / In Lima, informal settlements emerge from the construction of straw houses in the desert under poverty and precarious conditions. However, after seven decades of existence, they have transformed into relatively integrated neighborhoods in the city, with considerable level of development. This article describes how an urban fabric emerges within inverted planning processes, from large to small scales, from the city to the house (urbanization-division-consruction), being this inversion the engine of its development. Straw houses, the only material that enables communities to settle in the territory, apart from offering shelter, have become a strategy for city making. Housing is either a workshop or a store, a contribution to the urban fabric; it also changes its functions according to the needs of dwellers; housing expands as the neighborhood densifies, transforming its typology (from house to group home) or nature (rural to urban) when the settlement changes from village to neighborhood. The house expands as the city grows; both elements transform each other, giving dynamism to urban fabric, as well as ability to evolve.

The study sought to research and develops a universal palliative care measurement tool that will track the performance of informal caregivers to dying persons across the diversity of the South African cultural and religious groupings. The major inferences drawn from this study was that a generic domain, sub-items and intervals could be identified for palliative care; that a reliable measurement tool could be developed and that outcomes of care programs for dying persons in terms of effectiveness and efficiency could be numerically quantified. With the ability to measure now been realised, the ability to manage the outcomes became the new challenge. / Nursing Sciences / M.A. (Health Studies)

The thesis titled School Recess (5th grade) describes the processes and how children spend their free time between lessons. This thesis aims for a global view on the whole issue of recess and the concept of the structure of the school day. The thesis is divided into two parts - theoretical and a research. The theoretical part summarizes all available and relevant facts regarding the topic. It deals with the characteristics of the school environment, summarizes the biological and psychological development of children in the age group, and defines the function of breaks. The practical part of the thesis presents results of the research conducted through the research methods of observation and questionnaire. The results are interpreted and then descriptively assessed in accordance with the theoretical part. The last part of the research work is a comparison of the thesis' results with the same theme thesis focused on younger age groups. Finally, the conclusion of this thesis is that break time is necessary for children, and a significant time for relaxation, communication and interaction, play, socialization, and meeting the needs of bodily functions.

1 Abstract The aim of this thesis is to analyze communication functions, verbal and nonverbal means of compliments in Czech which occur in private informal discourse. Material for this analysis was collected from audiovisual and audio recordings of communication between family members and friends. As for the identification of the communication functions of compliments the method of conversation analysis was chosen. Functional classification was created based on the location of compliments in global organization of conversation, linguistic form of compliments and actions that compliments are performing or accompanying. Another part of this thesis is devoted to the analysis of verbal and nonverbal means used at complimenting. The structures, lexical units and the most significant nonverbal means used in the production of compliments were identified. For the purpose of comprehensive description of compliment sequences we also analyze reactions to compliments.