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

Yes / It might be argued that visual methods are particularly appropriate in research involving participants whose ability to express themselves verbally (eg by means of formal interviews) is compromised for some reason. One such group of participants is people with dementia, a condition often characterised by fluctuations in memory, concentration, comprehension and speech. Whilst increased research into the subjective experience of people with dementia is vital, this can often be hampered by the difficulties of ascertaining participants¿ capacity to give informed consent. Ideally, also, research should go beyond non-malfeasance, and offer real benefits to those involved. People with dementia are all too often subjected to social exclusion and narrative dispossession (Baldwin 2006), so research practice should reverse these trends as far as possible.

Implementing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in a developing country can improve spatial planning and decision-making. Utilizing a Participatory GIS framework of maximizing community empowerment and limiting marginalization, this thesis research explores the barriers associated with implementing GIS in Dangriga, Belize and how to overcome those barriers. The research included the identification of local needs that could benefit from the use of GIS, the collection of local data through group and individual data collections, and the utilization of locally collected data to conduct GIS training sessions. It was learned that Dangriga faces many barriers found in other developing countries: institutional inertia, resource and technical availabilities, and a lack of trained personnel. Through the collection of local data and training sessions utilizing the data, the barriers of implementing GIS in Dangriga can be minimized.

Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-01T23:39:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 tese_11835_Dissertação - André Luiz Souto Tavares.pdf: 1375955 bytes, checksum: af1f072ad3dca59dab9b3b6c1108be6b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-27 / A figura dos Orçamentos Participativos (OP), enquanto instrumento de deliberação e participação pública, é saudado não apenas por ser capaz de viabilizar alguns dos pressupostos mais centrais das perspectivas normativas das democracias, mas também como objeto de inclusão política e promoção de justiça social. A partir das principais variáveis apontadas na literatura como fatores determinantes no êxito dos OPs (desenho institucional, associativismo e compromisso governamental), o objetivo da presente pesquisa é compreender, a partir da relação entre as referidas variáveis, a experiência de elaboração do Orçamento Participativo no Município de Vila Velha (OPVV) no biênio 2017-2018. Para tanto, foram utilizadas informações a partir de trabalhos acadêmicos, documentos oficiais, entrevistas com os atores do OP e, como complemento destas fontes, o emprego do método da observação participante nas assembleias e reuniões do OPVV. Em que pese a ausência de clareza na definição dos critérios de filtragem das ações viáveis entre as etapas do OPVV, a análise da variável compromisso governamental mostrou que a administração empenhara-se em todas as fases do processo de elaboração do OPVV, de modo a haver um significativo esforço na realização das assembleias microrregionais nos bairros, bem com a tentativa de incluir a população não presente nas reuniões no processo de participação com a implementação do Orçamento Participativo on-line. Já com relação ao associativismo local, este mostrou-se, no contexto do OPVV, com um baixo nível de organização comunitária, apesar da histórica e relevante tradição associativa no município, principalmente nas décadas de 1970 e 1980, com os movimentos populares que reivindicavam melhorias nas condições de vida da população. Diante de um contexto em que o vetor governamental suplanta as forças oriundas da sociedade civil, há um processo de construção do desenho institucional que nem sempre é permeável por relações democráticas que favoreçam a igualdade e a equidade em todas as etapas do processo de elaboração do OPVV. / The figure of Participatory Budgets (PB) as an instrument of public deliberation is hailed not only for being able to make feasible some of the most central assumptions of the normative perspectives of democracies, but also as an object of political inclusion and. promotion of social justice. Based on the main variables mentioned in the academic as determinants of the success of PBs (institutional design, associativismo and government commitment), the objective of this research is to analyze the relationship between these variables to understand the experience of elaborating the participatory budget in the municipality of Vila Velha for the biennium 2017-2018. In order to do so, it used information from academic papers, official documents, interviews with OP actors and, as a complement to these sources, the use of participatory observation method at OPVV assemblies and meetings. Despite the lack of clarity in the definition of criteria for filtering viable actions between the OPVV phases, the analysis of the variable government commitment showed a commitment of the administration with all phases of the process of preparing the OPVV, so that there was a significant effort in the realization of the micro-regional assemblies in the neighborhoods, as well as the attempt to include the population not present in the meetings in the process of participation with the implementation of the Participatory Budget online. With regard to local associativism, it was a low level of community organization at the context of OPVV, despite the historical and relevant associative tradition in the municipality, especially in the 1970s and 1980s, with popular movements that demanded improvements conditions for population in general. Given a context in which the government vector supplants the forces originating from civil society, there is a process of construction of the institutional design that is not always permeable by democratic relations that favor equality and equity in the process of elaboration of the OPVV.

Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-01T23:39:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 tese_11835_Dissertação - André Luiz Souto Tavares.pdf: 1375955 bytes, checksum: af1f072ad3dca59dab9b3b6c1108be6b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-02-27 / A figura dos Orçamentos Participativos (OP), enquanto instrumento de deliberação e participação pública, é saudado não apenas por ser capaz de viabilizar alguns dos pressupostos mais centrais das perspectivas normativas das democracias, mas também como objeto de inclusão política e promoção de justiça social. A partir das principais variáveis apontadas na literatura como fatores determinantes no êxito dos OPs (desenho institucional, associativismo e compromisso governamental), o objetivo da presente pesquisa é compreender, a partir da relação entre as referidas variáveis, a experiência de elaboração do Orçamento Participativo no Município de Vila Velha (OPVV) no biênio 2017-2018. Para tanto, foram utilizadas informações a partir de trabalhos acadêmicos, documentos oficiais, entrevistas com os atores do OP e, como complemento destas fontes, o emprego do método da observação participante nas assembleias e reuniões do OPVV. Em que pese a ausência de clareza na definição dos critérios de filtragem das ações viáveis entre as etapas do OPVV, a análise da variável compromisso governamental mostrou que a administração empenhara-se em todas as fases do processo de elaboração do OPVV, de modo a haver um significativo esforço na realização das assembleias microrregionais nos bairros, bem com a tentativa de incluir a população não presente nas reuniões no processo de participação com a implementação do Orçamento Participativo on-line. Já com relação ao associativismo local, este mostrou-se, no contexto do OPVV, com um baixo nível de organização comunitária, apesar da histórica e relevante tradição associativa no município, principalmente nas décadas de 1970 e 1980, com os movimentos populares que reivindicavam melhorias nas condições de vida da população. Diante de um contexto em que o vetor governamental suplanta as forças oriundas da sociedade civil, há um processo de construção do desenho institucional que nem sempre é permeável por relações democráticas que favoreçam a igualdade e a equidade em todas as etapas do processo de elaboração do OPVV. / The figure of Participatory Budgets (PB) as an instrument of public deliberation is hailed not only for being able to make feasible some of the most central assumptions of the normative perspectives of democracies, but also as an object of political inclusion and. promotion of social justice. Based on the main variables mentioned in the academic as determinants of the success of PBs (institutional design, associativismo and government commitment), the objective of this research is to analyze the relationship between these variables to understand the experience of elaborating the participatory budget in the municipality of Vila Velha for the biennium 2017-2018. In order to do so, it used information from academic papers, official documents, interviews with OP actors and, as a complement to these sources, the use of participatory observation method at OPVV assemblies and meetings. Despite the lack of clarity in the definition of criteria for filtering viable actions between the OPVV phases, the analysis of the variable government commitment showed a commitment of the administration with all phases of the process of preparing the OPVV, so that there was a significant effort in the realization of the micro-regional assemblies in the neighborhoods, as well as the attempt to include the population not present in the meetings in the process of participation with the implementation of the Participatory Budget online. With regard to local associativism, it was a low level of community organization at the context of OPVV, despite the historical and relevant associative tradition in the municipality, especially in the 1970s and 1980s, with popular movements that demanded improvements conditions for population in general. Given a context in which the government vector supplants the forces originating from civil society, there is a process of construction of the institutional design that is not always permeable by democratic relations that favor equality and equity in the process of elaboration of the OPVV.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / E-government should be at the heart of service delivery in developing countries if the life of citizens, especially the socially and economically marginalised, is to be improved. Often in developing contexts, citizens have been treated as recipients of such interventions, in a top-down approach from central governments, resulting in the non-use of such interventions. A situation of non-use of e-services results in wastage of the public fiscus. The extant literature points to a number of underlying causes of the problem. One such problem is the “Design-Reality Gap."

This thesis examines participatory Urban Planning as an emerging application area for Participatory Design. Through testing and analysis traditional methods and concepts from Interaction and Participatory Design demonstrate how Participatory Design can contribute to current practices within participatory Urban Planning. Literature research provides a base on which to analyze the designer’s roles acting within Urban Planning. Research findings concerning the redevelopment of the RAW-arena in Berlin suggest the adjustment of traditional Participatory Design operating principles, such as user-centeredness into citizen-centeredness. The Participatory Designer’s traditional roles of a facilitator and translator extend by the role of a mediator, advocate, connector and activist when acting in the context of Urban Planning. The research presents a thorough description of the design process, workshops and interventions on-site.

Participatory appraisal (PA) is a methodology for problem description and analysis that has been widely used in less developed countries (LDCs) since the 1980s. The use of PA by veterinarians in LDCs has been restricted to mainly small-scale community-based animal health projects. Adoption of PA by veterinarians, particularly those working for government, was limited because of concerns about the reliability and validity of the methods. Three studies were conducted with pastoralist and agropastoralist communities in East Africa to vaiidate PA, by comparison of data derived from PA with conventional veterinary investigation and epidemiological information. In southern Sudan, research was conducted on a chronic wasting syndrome in adult cattle in Dinka and Nuer communities; in Kenya, research was conducted on bovine trypanosomiasis in Orma communities; and in Tanzania research was conducted on possible association between a chronic heat intolerance syndrome (HI) and foot and mouth disease (FMD). Participatory appraisal methods, called matrix scoring, seasonal calendars and proportional piling, were standardised and repeated to generate quantitative data. The level of agreement between informant groups was assessed using the Kendal coefficient of concordance (Jf). Matrix scoring was adapted for use by veterinarians to enable comparison of veterinarian's perceptions of disease signs and causes, with those of pastoralist informants. The data were compared using direct visual assessment, hierarchical cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling. Matrix scoring, seasonal calendars and proportional piling were judged to have good validity and reliability. In Tanzania, adaptation of proportional piling enabled calculation of the relative risk of HI cases being observed in cattle herds with previous history of FMD, and demonstrated significant association between HI and FMD. This finding was confirmed by detection of antibody to non-structural proteins to FMP in herds with and without HI. It was concluded that PA methods were reliable and valid methods for veterinary epidemiology when used by trained PA practitioners in agropastoral and pastoral settings. The methods were valuable for data collection and analysis, and for enabling greater involvement of livestock keepers in veterinary service development and research. Participatory appraisal could be further adapted to improve the design of primary veterinary services and disease surveillance systems. In veterinary research, PA was considered to be particularly useful during the exploratory phase of research and for generating research hypotheses. It was also concluded that institutional changes were required for the widespread adoption of PA by veterinarians in Africa.

The purpose of this study is to explore the diverse ways that aesthetic experience is tested by participatory art. The study will show the part played by participatory action in changing the conditions in which aesthetic experience arises. It will be confirmed that when the philosophy of action is taken into account then explanations of participatory art are enhanced. There are many descriptions of aesthetic experience and it is generally assumed to be a cornerstone in explanations of art. In one of the leading accounts aesthetic experience is associated with disinterested perceptions where the individual is free of any practical concern for the object of experience. In recent explanations of contemporary art there is less emphasis on aesthetic experience and there is a tendency to suggest that background knowledge and interpretation are equally as significant as perception in the experience of art. ‘Participatory art’ is a category of art that explicitly demonstrates this state of affairs. In contemporary criticism participatory art is a term used to describe art that favours an audience composed of active contributors rather than detached viewers. These are artworks that encourage moments of engagement by an audience such as the moving of elements in the work or the movement of the participant’s body. It could be said that the observable actions of participants mediate between perception and knowledge in participatory art. Such work opens up a space where assumptions made about the experience of art can be challenged. The present study explores how aesthetic experience is affected by the introduction of human action in participatory art by exploring three exhibitions of participatory art at The Tate Modern, The Barbican and Dundee Contemporary Arts. In this study it is suggested that participation in such artwork may be a consequence of deliberation, spontaneity or may take place within a social group. Therefore the aesthetic experiences and actions that are identified in these artworks are examined from the standpoint of reason, the body and social convention through the respective adoption of analytical, phenomenological and institutional/sociological perspectives.

Many things can be communicated through dialogue, including information, thoughts, feelings, attitudes, beliefs and personal experiences. More recently, dialogues have been used in focus group research and in program evaluations. Despite the increasing prevalence of dialogue in research and evaluation, much is still unknown about dialogue, especially how dialogue emerges and occurs within a group setting. The aim of the current study was to describe and identify the various factors involved in a dialogue, examine the relationships among these factors, and conceptualize the process of dialogue within a multi-stakeholder participatory evaluation. A qualitative analysis of three focus groups, each comprised of eight to ten participants, yielded several findings. First, several factors were found to help facilitate the interactions between multiple stakeholders in dialogue, including the development of common ground and specific contributions made by participants. Secondly, communication within these multiple stakeholder groups was found to alternate between two individuals, a dyadic exchange, or between multiple participants, a complex exchange. Thirdly, the moderator and participants were found to take on each other roles. Finally, from these conversations, a model was developed to illustrate the progression of a dialogue in these groups. These results have many implications for program evaluators, focus group leaders, and other practitioners in the field.