Enligt lagen om kommunal energiplanering ska varje svensk kommun ha en energiplan för tillförsel för tillförsel och användning av energi. Huruvida energiplanering är ett bra sätt att styra det kommunala energisystemet är dock omdebatterat. Denna avhandling studerar innehåll i, och implementering av, ett antal svenska kommunala energiplaner. Energiplanernas effektivitet studeras på två nivåer: uppfyllelse av mål och visioner i planerna, samt hur detta bidrar till att uppfylla de nationella energipolitiska målen. Forskningen baseras på tre studier: en studie av innehållet i tolv energiplaner från Östergötland, en studie av mål och visioner i sju energiplaner och hur energisystem utvecklats efter energiplanerna antagits, samt en fallstudie av Kungälvs kommun där mål och måluppfyllelse studerats mer utförligt. Innehåll och målformuleringar i energiplanerna har analyserats med avseende på miljö, effektiv energianvändning och systemnivå. Mål och måluppfyllelse har även analyserats med avseende på aktörer. Resultaten visar på att de studerade energiplanerna har smal systemsyn och att de miljöanalyser som finns i planerna är undermåliga. Energiplaneringen har varit effektiv till viss del. Bäst måluppfyllelse har kommunerna när det gäller mål på en relativt låg systemnivå och när det är kommunen själv som äger frågan, exempelvis fjärrvärmeutbyggnad och energieffektivisering av kommunens lokaler. När det gäller utvecklingens bidrag till de nationella energipolitiska målen är resultaten varierande: användning av biobränslen har ökat avsevärt, medan självförsörjningsgraden på el bara ökat något. Bäst är utvecklingen när det gäller minskade koldioxidutsläpp. Baserat på bristerna som upptäckts i de studerade energiplanerna och dess implementering förs en diskussion kring möjligheter att öka energiplaneringens effektivitet och vidga systemsynen. Förbättringar som diskuteras är att stärka kopplingen till fysisk planering, och att inkludera medborgarmedverkan och miljöbedömningar. Om kopplingen till energifrågor stärks i översiktlig planering och om även privata aktörer kommer till tals under planeringsprocessen, skulle detta kunna underlätta implementering av energiplanerna. Miljöbedömningar i sin tur kan bidra med en vidare systemsyn om mer relevanta mål i planerna. Slutligen föreslås att ramverket för miljöbedömning av planer och program (2001/42/EC) kan användas vid energiplanering eftersom det framhåller vikten av breda analyser, samråd med privata aktörer och miljöbedömningar. / Swedish municipalities are required to produce a municipal energy plan for energy supply and use. Whether energy planning is suitable to manage local energy systems, however, is subject to debate. This thesis explores municipal energy planning and development of local energy systems after energy plans were adopted to examine whether energy planning is effective. The effectiveness of energy planning is studied on two levels: in terms of whether goals in energy plans were implemented, and whether energy planning contributes to fulfilling national energy policy goals. The research is based on three studies. In the first, the scope of twelve municipal energy plans from a Swedish region was assessed. In the second study, goals and visions in seven energy plans were analysed and compared to the development of the local energy systems. The third case involved Kungälv municipality, where the implementation of goals in its energy plan was studied more thoroughly. Scopes and goals in the energy plans were analysed from three perspectives: the environment, energy efficiency and the systems level. Goals and development were also analysed from an actor’s perspective. The results show that the scopes of the studied energy plans have narrow systems boundaries, and that the environmental analyses presented in the plans are very basic. Energy planning was found to have been fairly effective in terms of fulfilment of goals in energy plans. Most positive developments are for goals on a relatively low systems level when the local authority owns the issue, for example district heating expansion and energy efficiency measures in public buildings. When it comes to contributing to national energy policy goals, results vary; use of biomass has increased, but selfsufficiency in electricity supply has increased only slightly. The most favourable development when it comes to energy-related emissions is the reduction of carbon dioxide. Based on shortcomings identified in the studied energy plans and implementation, possibilities to increase the effectiveness and widen the scope of energy planning are discussed. Improvements are discussed in terms of urban planning as well as participative planning, and with respect to the environmental assessment of plans. If energy issues are included in urban planning and a participatory planning approach is used, this could facilitate the implementation of energy plans. Including environmental assessment could facilitate wide scopes and more relevant goals. It is also proposed that the EU framework for environmental assessment of plans and programmes (2001/42/EC) can be used for energy planning, since it includes a comprehensive approach, public participation, and environmental assessment.

Sammanfattning De ensamkommande barnen som kommer till Sverige befinner sig i en utsatt situation. Efter den förste juli 2006 lades ansvaret för barnens boende och omvårdnad på kommunerna efter överenskommelse med migrationsverket. De ensamkommande barnen blir tilldelade en god man, som får ansvaret för barnen i föräldrarnas frånvaro. En av de gode männens uppgift är att företräda barnet i asylprocessen. Tidigare forskning som belyser hur mottagningen i en kommun kan se ut, eller hur de vuxna som arbetar med barnen upplever sin situation var svårt att finna. Idag finns främst rapporter från ideella organisationer som exempelvis Rädda Barnen. Under hösten 2008 gjordes intervjuer med ansvarig tjänsteman på kommun X, boende personal på ett PUT- boende för ensamkommande barn, samt gode män. Detta för att få en förståelse för hur barnens situation kan se ut i en kommun och hur ansvaret är fördelat mellan berörda parter. Utifrån intervjuerna visade det sig att det saknades klara direktiv och regler mellan de olika instanserna, vilket kan leda till en ostrukturerad tillvaro för de ensamkommande barnen. Vidare framkom att inga formella krav fanns för att bli god man, inte heller någon specifik utbildning innan de går in som vårdnadshavare för de ensamkommande barnen. Detta placerar barnen i ännu en utsatt situation, då de gode männen har tilldelats ansvaret att beakta barnens rättigheter, ekonomi, samt juridiska aspekter.  Nyckelord: ensamkommande barn, kommunens ansvar, god man, asylprocess / Abstract The unaccompanied children who come to Sweden are in an exposed position. After the first of July 2006 the responsibility for the children's housing and caring lays on the local authority after agreement with immigration authorities. The unaccompanied child gets an allocated good man, which gets the responsibility for the children in the parents' absence. One of the good men's responsibilities is to represent the child in the asylum process. Earlier research that elucidates how the reception can looks like in a local authority where difficult to find. How the adult who works with these children experience their situation, where also difficult to find. Today, there are principally reports from non-profit organizations, for example: "save the children" in Sweden. During the autumn 2008 interviews were done with a responsible official in local authority X, housing personnel on PUT- living for unaccompanied children, and good men. To be able to get an understanding for how the children's situation can look like in a local authority and how the responsibility is distributed between concerned parties. On the basis of the interviews, it showed clear directives and rules were missing between the different authorities, which can lead to an unstructured life for the unaccompanied children. Furthermore, no formal requirements or other specific education is necessary in order to become a good man and there by make a commitment to get custody for the unaccompanied children. This puts the children in another exposed situation, since the good men have been allocated the responsibility to pay attention to the children's rights, economy, and legal aspects. Keywords: unaccompanied children, the local authority, good man, asylum process

Local government has to face new challenges and demands as they approach the 21st century, especially in view of the fact that the South African system of local government has been significantly altered since the first democratic local government elections which were held in November 1995 and July 1996. The integrated development plan (IDP) of a municipality reflects on the municipal council's vision for the long-term development of the municipality with special emphasis on the municipality's most critical development for service delivery purposes. The integrated development plan consists of separate plans developed for new initiatives to fit into the overall strategic planning framework as distinct from the normal operating and capital business plans for each of a Council's existing functions. The plans do not necessarily relate to completely new functions but may relate to changing the way a function operates, enhancing service levels of existing functions or even cutting back services provided by an existing function. Some IDP initiatives may stand apart as individual projects and some may have wide-spread impact across existing functional areas. Emanating from the above is a resultant conflict between administration management of a municipality and the rest of the workforce of the municipality. As a result of the lack of knowledge regarding conflict in a local authority within the framework of an integrated development plan for labour and the need for it to be managed correctly, it was decided to embark on this study and contribute to the existing knowledge on this subject. / Thesis (M.Com. (Industrial Sociology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Bakgrunn: Bygninger med universell utforming vil kunne gi økt deltakelse og aktivitet for flere. Mål: Studiet har målsetting om å vise hvordan implementering av universell utforming kan foregå i en norsk kommune og vise til hvilke implementeringskriterier som er viktig med hensyn til å oppnå universell utforming. Metode: Case study er brukt som forskningsmetode. Studiet består av fire case; to skole- og to barnehagebygg. Visning av bilder ble brukt som metode for å illustrere universell utforming og gi økt kunnskap om temaet til berørte parter. Bygningene ble kartlagt med hensyn til hvorvidt bygningsmassen tilfredstiller ytelser nedfelt i veileding til tekniske forskrifter. Videre vil utfylte kartleggingsverktøy beskrive hva som bør gjøres av tiltak med hensyn til universell utforming.Ett år etter kartleggingsarbeidet intervjuet vi seks sentrale informanter; kommunalsjef, leder av eiendomsavdelingen, politiker, avdelingsleder for barnehagene samt leder for hver av de to barnehagene. Følgende spørsmål ble stilt: Hvilke politiske beslutninger er tatt? Hvilken forståelse og kunnskap har informanten om universell utforming?  Hvordan har planprosessen forløpt i kommunen? Økonomiske betraktninger? Hva er viktig for implementering av universell utforming? Resultat: Funn fra kartleggingsarbeidet viser mangelfull universell utforming vedrørende fremkommelighet, orienterbarhet og inneklima. Ett år etter kartleggingsarbeid ble det gjennomført intervju av seks sentrale informanter. Studiet identifiserte implementerings-kriterier for å oppnå universell utforming. Det er nødvendig med politisk og administrativ forankring, felles forståelse og samhandling mellom helse – og teknisk sektor, samarbeid med brukerorganisasjoner, plassering av et pådriveransvar for universell utforming og økonomiske ressurser avsatt til arbeidet for å oppnå implementering av universell utforming. Konklusjon: kartleggingsarbeid og bruk av implementeringskriterier er viktig for å oppnå universell utforming. Det er viktig med innspill vedrørende universell utforming tidlig i planprosesser. Med fordel kan videre forskning vise sammenheng mellom universell utforming og opplevelse av helse. / Background: Buildings that implement universal design provide increased participation and activity levels for many people. Purpose: This study aimed to show how a Norwegian community could use universal design for a planned rehabilitation of school and pre-school buildings. We sought to describe the steps necessary to achieve universal design. Methods: Our case study formed the basis of our investigation regarding the potential of universal design in school buildings. To raise awareness in study participants, we showed them photographs illustrating universal design. We also mapped the buildings according to their fulfillment of the “Guidelines to technical regulations” provided by both the construction plan and building legislation. One year following the mapping exercise, we surveyed six central participants; executive officer, manager of the property department, local politicians, managers and department heads of 2 childcare units. The following questions were posed: Which political decisions have been taken? What does the participant know about universal design? Describe planning processes in the local authority? What economical considerations have been taken? Describe the important factors necessary to implement universal design? Results: Mapping revealed insufficient design regarding mobility, adaptation ability, and indoor climate. Our study identified criteria that are essential to achieving universal design, including increased knowledge and understanding of universal design; political and administrative funding of the work; common understanding and interaction between the health sector, user organizations, and the technical sector; accountability; and economic recourses. Interviews indicated that study reports aided the municipality in laying groundwork for further rehabilitation of the buildings. Conclusions: While reports and implementation criteria contribute importantly to achieving universal design, it is important to use such information and guidelines early in the planning process. Further research is required to determine a possible connection between universal design and perception of health. / <p>ISBN 978-91-85721-65-8</p>

Environ 3500 conseils d’enfants et de jeunes interviennent aujourd’hui auprès des collectivitéslocales en France. Initiée dans les années 60 et 70, cette forme d’implication et d’engagement s’estconsidérablement développée au point de devenir un vecteur important de la participation des jeunes, unvecteur de transmission et d’éducation aux valeurs de l’engagement, de l’action publique locale et de lacitoyenneté.Peu d’investigations, pourtant, sont allées ausculter, de l’intérieur, dans les assemblées plénières, dans lesgroupes de travail, la manière dont se déroulent ces échanges. C’est ce que cette recherche s’est proposé deréaliser.Le travail présenté ici repose sur une observation d’environ neuf mois d’un conseil de jeunes et plusspécifiquement d’un groupe de travail de ce conseil. Ce sont les modalités de décision, au sein du groupeValorisation, qui ont servies de base à une analyse qualitative. Comment se prennent les décisions entre lesjeunes et les animateurs du dispositif ? Quelle part les jeunes ont-ils dans ces prises de décision ? Si les jeunesimpliqués (étudiant d’environ 22 ou 23 ans pour la plupart) sont bien inscrits dans un rôle de décision par lacollectivité qui les accueille, la recherche montre une réalité beaucoup plus nuancée. Sur la durée, laparticipation se révèle évolutive et inégale. Dans le quotidien, les jeux d’acteurs, l’humour, le poids del’institution…, se révèlent des déterminants importants des prises de décision.Au final de cette navigation dans un univers de projet collectif, malgré une bonne foi affichée, la collectivitésemble pouvoir atteindre le pont d’arrivé qu’elle s’était fixé. Elle propose ainsi aux jeunes impliqués un espacede participation relativement restreint, dans lequel la revendication d’autonomie ne tarde pas à poindre. / Approximately 3500 councils of children and youth councils take actions with local authorities inFrance today. Introduced in the 60s and 70s, this form of implication and commitment has considerablydeveloped. It became an important vehicle for the participation of the young people, a vehicle for transmissionand education in the values of the commitment, the local public service and the citizenship.Few investigations, nevertheless, went to examine, from the inside, in plenary meetings and in working groups,the way these exchanges are taking place. It is what is studied in this research.The work presented here is based on an observation, about nine months of a youth council and morespecifically a workgroup of this council. The modalities of decision, in the group Valuation, were used as a baseto a qualitative analysis. How are decisions, between the young people and the facilitators of the device, taken? What part do they have in this decision-making ? If the involved young people (students about 22 or 23 yearsold for the most part) are well registered in a role of decision by the community that hosted them, the researchshows a far more nuanced reality. The participation is evolutionary and uneven on duration. In everyday life,actors' sets, humour, weight of the institution, are shown to be important determinants of decision-making.In the end of this browsing in a universe of collective project, despite a displayed good faith, the communityseems to achieve the arrival bridge it had set. It is thus proposed to the involved young people, a relativelyrestricted space for participation, in which the demand for autonomy is not long in appearing.

City marketing is a recently developed process to assist communities in achieving development oriented aims. Changing economic circumstances created such a need and marketing contributed key concepts such as marketing mix and auditing procedures while the process usually occurs within a town planning context. Case studies of applied city marketing reveal predominantly growth related goals, diverse strategies, successes and problems concerning community involvement, equity and effectiveness. South African local authorities have only recently recognised the need for marketing, but tend to limit their actions to promotion. The Verwoerdburg Town Council which successfully established its new central business district, Verwoerdburgstad, through city marketing, has lost its impetus and direction. The Town Council should re-evaluate its goals and methods in order to market itself successfully. / Civil and Chemical Engineering / M.Sc. (Geography)

Orientador: João Augusto Gentilini / Banca: José Vaidergorn / Banca: Pedro Ganzeli / Resumo: Este trabalho de pesquisa teve como objetivo analisar qual concepção de participação está presente nos depoimentos dos membros do CME - Conselho Municipal de Educação de São José do Rio Preto que estaria desencadeada nos processos políticos por seus atores e/ou grupos dominantes no interior do conselho. Nosso propósito foi investigar a existência de processos participativos dos cidadãos, por meio de seus representantes e dos vários segmentos da sociedade que compõe o CME. A escolha do Conselho Municipal de Educação deve-se à importância que esse órgão assumiu por ser um órgão normativo, deliberativo, fiscalizador, mobilizador e representativo que assessora o executivo municipal no desenvolvimento de políticas públicas. Nosso objeto de estudo são as informações coletadas nas entrevistas dos membros do CME de São José do Rio Preto, os atores que representam lideranças das comunidades e/ou os grupos organizados do município; os quais norteiam a elaboração de políticas públicas educacionais municipais e possuem a possibilidade real de participar e/ou fomentar a participação, de influir e/ou decidir, de ampliar os processos democráticos, na implementação de políticas públicas educacionais desencadeadas nos processos políticos a partir do conselho. Esta dissertação insere-se na modalidade de pesquisa de campo, de natureza qualitativa, tem como recurso metodológico o uso de diferentes ferramentas metodológicas para a coleta de dados, tais como revisão bibliográfica, análise da legislação produzida pelo CME e coleta de informações dos depoentes por meio de entrevista, a qual se fundamentou em um questionário semiestruturado. O período delimitado para esta pesquisa se deu a partir de 1996, com ênfase nos meses de janeiro de 2009 a setembro de 2010, o que compreende a gestão atual, ainda em curso. As análises das informações... (Resumo completo, clicr acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This paper has been aimed at analyzing the testimonies of members of São José do Rio Preto's Municipal Council of Education (CME - Conselho Municipal de Educação) in order to identify the notion of participation throughout its content, which has supposedly been present within political processes of his actors and/or dominant groups inside the Council. Our goal was to investigate the existence of citizens' participative processes concerning their representatives as well as the several segments of society which are part of the CME. The choice of the Municipal Council of Education (CME - Conselho Municipal de Educação) is due to the importance that this institution has been given due to the fact that it is a normative, deliberative, invigilating, mobilizing and representative institution which is responsible for assisting the municipal executive in the development of public policies. Our objects of study are the information assembled in the interviews with members of São José do Rio Preto's CME - Municipal Council of Education (Conselho Municipal de Educação), actors who represent communities' leadership and/or organized city groups which guide the development of public educational policies and who are authentically able to participate and/or foster the participation, to influence and/or decide, to broaden the democratic processes within the implementation of public educational policies presents in the political processes from the Council. This research is classified as a qualitative field research, whose methodological resource is the usage of different methodological tools to gather information, such as bibliographical revision, analysis of CME legislation and data collection from interviewee deponents based on semi-structured questionnaires. The defined period for this research started in 1996 with emphasis from the month of January 2009 to September 2010, which corresponds... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:24:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2010-12-16Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:31:14Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 silva_bhu_me_arafcl.pdf: 917871 bytes, checksum: 7907f683341ae2803422d56425d0a370 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Este trabalho de pesquisa teve como objetivo analisar qual concepção de participação está presente nos depoimentos dos membros do CME – Conselho Municipal de Educação de São José do Rio Preto que estaria desencadeada nos processos políticos por seus atores e/ou grupos dominantes no interior do conselho. Nosso propósito foi investigar a existência de processos participativos dos cidadãos, por meio de seus representantes e dos vários segmentos da sociedade que compõe o CME. A escolha do Conselho Municipal de Educação deve-se à importância que esse órgão assumiu por ser um órgão normativo, deliberativo, fiscalizador, mobilizador e representativo que assessora o executivo municipal no desenvolvimento de políticas públicas. Nosso objeto de estudo são as informações coletadas nas entrevistas dos membros do CME de São José do Rio Preto, os atores que representam lideranças das comunidades e/ou os grupos organizados do município; os quais norteiam a elaboração de políticas públicas educacionais municipais e possuem a possibilidade real de participar e/ou fomentar a participação, de influir e/ou decidir, de ampliar os processos democráticos, na implementação de políticas públicas educacionais desencadeadas nos processos políticos a partir do conselho. Esta dissertação insere-se na modalidade de pesquisa de campo, de natureza qualitativa, tem como recurso metodológico o uso de diferentes ferramentas metodológicas para a coleta de dados, tais como revisão bibliográfica, análise da legislação produzida pelo CME e coleta de informações dos depoentes por meio de entrevista, a qual se fundamentou em um questionário semiestruturado. O período delimitado para esta pesquisa se deu a partir de 1996, com ênfase nos meses de janeiro de 2009 a setembro de 2010, o que compreende a gestão atual, ainda em curso. As análises das informações... / This paper has been aimed at analyzing the testimonies of members of São José do Rio Preto's Municipal Council of Education (CME - Conselho Municipal de Educação) in order to identify the notion of participation throughout its content, which has supposedly been present within political processes of his actors and/or dominant groups inside the Council. Our goal was to investigate the existence of citizens' participative processes concerning their representatives as well as the several segments of society which are part of the CME. The choice of the Municipal Council of Education (CME - Conselho Municipal de Educação) is due to the importance that this institution has been given due to the fact that it is a normative, deliberative, invigilating, mobilizing and representative institution which is responsible for assisting the municipal executive in the development of public policies. Our objects of study are the information assembled in the interviews with members of São José do Rio Preto's CME - Municipal Council of Education (Conselho Municipal de Educação), actors who represent communities' leadership and/or organized city groups which guide the development of public educational policies and who are authentically able to participate and/or foster the participation, to influence and/or decide, to broaden the democratic processes within the implementation of public educational policies presents in the political processes from the Council. This research is classified as a qualitative field research, whose methodological resource is the usage of different methodological tools to gather information, such as bibliographical revision, analysis of CME legislation and data collection from interviewee deponents based on semi-structured questionnaires. The defined period for this research started in 1996 with emphasis from the month of January 2009 to September 2010, which corresponds... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

La décentralisation en transférant des compétences et des responsabilités aux collectivités territoriales a créé des centres de décision susceptibles de s’assurer, et a entrainé une modification de la gestion des risques. Cette gestion des risques constitue une opération à logique à la fois économique et assurantielle de segmentation, fondée sur le calcul actuariel, qui ignore la notion d’égalité et de solidarité des communes entre elles et qui met en vérité celles-ci dans une situation de faiblesse contractuelle en contradiction avec les prérogatives de puissance publique qui sont leur apanage. L’application du code des marchés publics organise certes, la concurrence par une objectivation des procédures, mais n’aboutit pas nécessairement à un choix fondé sur la qualité, tant la spécificité du droit des assurances limite les vertus attribuées au processus de mise en concurrence. La qualification critiquée de contrat administratif des marchés publics d’assurance n’a pas atteint son objectif d’unification des contentieux, précontractuel et contractuel, du fait des règles spécifiques de l’assurance mais n’a pas non plus rétabli, dans le cadre du rapport contractuel une égalité entre les contractants. De plus, malgré l’élargissement des possibilités de recours et en l’absence de contrôle sur le contenu des contrats, le mécanisme de subrogation, associé aux accords de règlement entre assureurs fait échapper quasi totalement le règlement des litiges aux collectivités territoriales. La coexistence entre le droit des assurances de source législative, le droit administratif encore largement d’origine jurisprudentielle, et le droit privé se révèle donc pour le moins difficile. / Decentralization by transferring powers and responsibilities to local governments has created decision centers that are likely to be insured, and has led to a change in risk management. This risk management is a logical operation in the economic and insurance-time segmentation, based on the actuarial calculation that ignores the notion of equality and solidarity, common between them and puts them in a situation of contractual weakness inconsistent with the public powers that are their prerogative. The application of the public procurement code certainly organizes competition objectification procedures, but does not necessarily lead to a choice based on quality, as the specificity of insurance law limits the virtues attributed to the process of competition. Qualification criticized administrative contract procurement insurance has not reached its goal of unification of pre-contractual and contractual disputes because of the specific insurance rules and has not either restored within the contractual relationship equality between the contracting parties. Moreover, despite the expansion of recourse and in the absence of control over the content of contracts, subrogation mechanism associated with settlement agreements between insurers is almost entirely escape the settlement of disputes with local authorities. Coexistence between insurance law legislative source, administrative law still largely based on jurisprudence law, and private law thus appears to be quite difficult.

In South Africa, private and public sector organizations have been experiencing conflict at an increasing rate during the past few decades and especially the last ten years. The prominence and high level with which conflict is regarded in this new democracy has made the study of this phenomenon more relevant. Especially within business organizations, between individuals, groups, and at management level, the influence of transformation and affirmative action has steadily affected interpersonal and intergroup relations. This situation makes it more difficult to handle or to manage. The lack of knowledge experienced in many business organizations causes mismanagement of conflict which eventually (directly or indirectly) affects the productivity of the employee corps and subsequently, the effectivity or profitability of the organization. The objective of this study was to establish by means of a comparative theoretical and empirical analysis, the nature, causes and handling/ management styles of conflict within a public and a private sector organization. Being respectively non-profit and profit driven organizations and having introduced affirmative action and transformation at different degrees, it was possible to evaluate the effect with regard to conflict. The research method followed in this study was both qualitative and quantitative. In the first five chapters a theoretical, qualitative approach was applied. Different theories of conflict, from the classical, neo-classical to modern systems, were analysed in order to establish sources of conflict. From this discussion, an analysis of conflict which was viewed by the theories of both Karl Marx and Ralph Dahrendorf to be a social interactive process characterized by force, strife and animosity, was accepted to form the basis of the study regarding the sources of conflict. Departing from this basis the various concepts of conflict as developed in the literature were studied in a comparative way. This was followed by a comparative analysis of conflict handling processes for which an adapted conflict process model was presented. The elements of this model form the core research of this study. Analysis of three key conflict handling style models (Thomas-Killman, ROC-II and CMS) were consequently compared to decide which one would be the most suitable for the empirical survey. The second part of this study consisted of a quantitative comparison of causes, handling styles and manifestation of conflict on an interpersonal basis within a local authority and an agricultural company. This was done by means of questionnaires containing designed variables obtained from the qualitative section of the study and a standardized section borrowed from Rahim's ROC-II model questionnaire. The descriptive statistical analysis was done with the SPSS-program in consultation with the STATCON Bureau of the Rand Afrikaans University. The empirical survey validated the viewpoints brought forward in the qualitative part of the study. By way of the results obtained from the analysis, the four hypotheses which were linked to the set objectives of the study were validated. The four hypothesis are: - A significant difference exists with regard to the causes of conflict between a local authority and agricultural organization. - A significant difference exists between employees of the local authority and the agricultural organization's perception of what effect conflict has on them. - A significant difference exists in the frequency with which different conflict-handling styles are used when compared to different background variables in both organizations. - A significant difference exists in the frequency with which different conflict-handling styles are used amongst employees of the agricultural organization and local authority Explicit findings with regard to the literature (qualitative) and empirical (quantitative) study were brought forward, and practical recommendations for management as well as recommendations for further research were made. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Sociology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.