The impact of a participatory organizational intervention on job stress in community health care institutions

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of a short-term participatory intervention in health care institutions in Norway on workers' control, other job characteristics, job stress, subjective health and job satisfaction. Participants (including managers and supervisors) were randomly allocated to intervention groups and to a control group. Actions to solve problems based on the employees' own perceptions of the main problems were seen as the key motivators for organizational improvement and increased control at the task and office level in the work situation. The main stressors identified by the participants in this study were lack of information, communication and respect between professions, as well as the need for professional and personal development. The participatory intervention had a positive, but limited effect on work-related stress, job characteristics, learning climate and management style, and seemed to have started a beneficial change process. There were no negative short-term effects on work-related stress and job demands. Organizational interventions may be a potential training ground for acquiring participatory skills and resources, and if sustained after the intervention period, they can have long-term effects on problem solving, job stress and employee satisfaction.     

Seeking good governance in participatory-GIS: a review of processes and governance dimensions in applying GIS to participatory spatial planning

The adoption of participatory spatial planning (PSP) approaches has been partially supported by developments in participatory-GIS (P-GIS), as seen in applications both in local resource management in developing South countries, and in community neighbourhood planning in the urban North. Such applications provide a basis for examining the relationship between the use of geo-information and governance, as many P-GIS initiatives claim to foster accountability, transparency, legitimacy and other dimensions of governance. Examples from recent literature illustrate the strengths and weaknesses of utilising P-GIS, and in particular, the implications for greater participation, empowerment, and ownership of and access to spatial information, and for governance in general. Some new developments in GIS technology, like ‘mobile-GIS’, have the potential to strengthen these impacts. While P-GIS is not an essential component of PSP, if used with an adequate regard and sensitivity for issues of ownership, legitimacy and local knowledge, it can contribute to the empowerment of communities in solving spatial planning problems.     

地方政府推进基层民主参与式治理的实践探索

以公民参与理论为核心的民主参与式治理,强调政府与公民在基层自治组织平台下协商管理社会事务,促进基层政府的开放性和民主化,对于推动地方治理创新和公众参与均有重要意义。通过选取两个地方政府基层民主参与式治理创新的案例,分别分析“民主恳谈”和“议事会”对基层民主治理的启示。应加大政府向社会赋权力度,建构多层次的基层民主参与结构;推进基层民主组织监督平台的发展,赋权公民参与的动力原点;构建多元主体参与的基层民主治理,发挥其他组织的积极作用,以期实现地方政府基层民主参与式治理的程序化和常态化。     

参与式管理在生态农业基地建设中的应用性分析

要转变农村经济发展方式,全面协调可持续发展,就必须依托生态农业基地的建设,为广大农民提供协调发展的平台。让员工参与到组织的决策过程中,最终激励员工自觉提高生产率的管理方式,将其引入生态农业基地建设中,搭建专家、管理者、农民、非政府组织、消费者等多主体共同参与决策的平台,可最大限度激励各主体参与农业基地建设的积极性。     

Transcending Boundaries

SUMMARY

This paper presents a participatory research and planned change effort to develop a coordinated community response system to domestic violence in a United States culturally diverse community with a large immigrant population. This work grew out of an international, interdisciplinary project that was designed to establish ongoing collaborative relationships between university and community practitioners in the United States, Honduras, and Costa Rica around the theme of intra-familial violence, particularly gender-based violence against women. The paper analytically describes the international collaborative project, the local community-based participatory research and community development project, and lessons learned from both the local and international interdisciplinary collaboration. Examination of differences across disciplinary and cultural contexts generated critical reflection on the need to consider reframing domestic violence in the context of fundamental human rights, as is the case in Central America. At the same time, challenges around developing a coordinated community response, addressing inadequacies in the legal system, and implementing education and training were echoed across boundaries, demonstrating the need for continued international collaboration.     

INFOMEDIA LITERACY: an educational basic for young people in the new information age

The aim of this article is to introduce the concept of infomedia literacy, which refers to the ability to process critically all kinds of written information, sound, images, graphics and values transmitted by the new technology. This article argues that when information technology merges with communication technology, there is a need for a new form of literacy. The article is divided into two parts. The first part uses empirical data from Hong Kong to illustrate the necessity of providing infomedia literacy training to young people in schools. Adopting the perspective of socially constructed technology, the second part attempts to conceptualize infomedia literacy and define its rationales, aims, scope, key components and characteristics. A socially participatory approach of infomedia education is proposed. It is suggested that infomedia literacy as a life skill in the new information age has several components: (1) an understanding of the nature and functions of infomedia and critical awareness of their impact on individuals and society; (2) the skill of critical analysis of information transmitted through infomedia technology; (3) the skill of efficient search and selection of information; (4) knowledge to use infomedia technology for self-expression; (5) aesthetic appreciation; and (6) social participation by influencing the development of infomedia technology.     

职业英语“参与式教学”探讨

“参与式教学”是激发学生自主学习的法宝，它打破了单一的填鸭式教学，是教学方法的新突破。采用“参与式教学”可以调动学生的积极性，发挥学生的学习能动性，让学生学会学习，成为学习的主人。     

Can we find solutions with people? Participatory action research with small organic producers in Andalusia

This paper reports on an experiment linking science with people. Taking as a paradigm the holistic scientific approach fostered by agroecology, we present a methodological proposal for the implementation of participatory action research in rural areas. Our aims were various: to solve a specific problem, i.e. the exclusion of small- and medium-scale organic farmers from the official certification system; to find solutions collectively through an exchange of knowledge between researchers, technicians, producers and consumers; and to generate endogenous social change in rural areas through processes based on local skills and collective creativity. This paper examines the methods applied, and provides a participatory reflexive analysis of those methods. Both the keys to the success and the constraints are analysed, in order to conclude the contributions that agroecology and PAR processes can make to sustainable and innovative research proposals.     

深化与拓展：参与式发展的本土化探索—甘肃雨田农村发展论坛会议评述

参与式发展自20世纪90年代引入中国之后，广泛应用于NGO所开展的农村发展项目中，并取得了显著的效果。但由于实践经验的缺乏和反思不足，使参与式方法的应用越来越技术化、模式化和教条化，面临着本土化的困境。为了探索参与式发展的本土化之路，深化与拓展参与式发展的视域，2008年12月6日在兰州顺利召开了甘肃雨田农村发展论坛，就“参与式发展与本土化”、“农民组织化与发展”、“拓展发展的视野”等主题进行了卓有成效的讨论。     

Disabled citizens as researchers – Challenges and benefits of collaboration for effective action and change

ABSTRACT

This article reports on the evaluation of an initial pilot for a collaborative research project undertaken in an English county between a service user-led Coalition of Disabled People, the local authority and local university. The project sought to map the assets and resources for/of disabled people in their local community as well as needs and gaps, to inform the Coalition’s strategic planning and raise awareness of disability issues across the county.

The article discusses an inclusive, co-productive approach using participatory action research. It focuses on experiences from the pilot stage of the project and considers how the authors worked together with the required knowledge exchange and power-sharing to recruit and train researchers with expertise from their personal experience of disability. Recruitment ensured they had relevant qualities and skills that could be developed, to increase their confidence, knowledge and skills set as researchers. They then undertook photo-elicited, semi-structured interviews with other disabled people, analysed findings and created photographic exhibitions for dissemination and awareness raising.

Demonstrating a commitment to emancipatory research and collective action for change, the discussion considers the promotion of shared values within the research team, and explores the benefits and challenges encountered during the process and how the particular stages were managed to achieve the beneficial outcomes of the pilot. The article seeks to add to the literature of participatory/emancipatory action research for social work.