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Showing papers on "Empowerment published in 2003"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Using a sample of 888 bank employees working under 76 branch manages, the authors found that transformational leadership was positively related to both followers' dependence and their empowerment and that personal identification mediated the relationship betweentransformational leadership and followers' dependent on the leader.
Abstract: Followers' identification with the leader and the organizational unit, dependence on the leader, and empowerment by the leader are often attributed to transformational leadership in organizations. However, these hypothesized outcomes have received very little attention in empirical studies. Using a sample of 888 bank employees working under 76 branch manages, the authors tested the relationships between transformational leadership and these outcomes. They found that transformational leadership was positively related to both followers' dependence and their empowerment and that personal identification mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and followers' dependence on the leader, whereas social identification mediated the relationship between transformational leadership and followers' empowerment. The authors discuss the implications of these findings to both theory and practice.

1,287 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore some of the tensions, contradictions and complementarities between "gender-aware" and "participatory" approaches to development, and suggest that making a difference may come to depend on challenging embedded assumptions about gender and power, and on making new alliances out of old divisions.

723 citations


Book
18 Dec 2003
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide a concise, accessible introduction to gender and development issues in the developing world and in the transition countries of Eastern and Central Europe, including discussions on changes in theoretical approaches, gender complexities and the Millennium Development Goals; social and biological reproduction including differing attitudes to family planning by states and variation in education and access to housing.
Abstract: Global financial problems, rising food prices, climate change, international migration – increasingly by women – conflict situations in many poor countries, the spread of tropical diseases such as malaria and dengue fever and the increased incidence of HIV/AIDS and TB, and changing patterns of trade have all added new dimensions to gender issues in developing countries. These problems are frequently being brought to public attention in the media and through long-haul tourism. Consequently students’ interest in gender and development has grown considerably in the last few years. This updated second edition provides a concise, accessible introduction to Gender and Development issues in the developing world and in the transition countries of Eastern and Central Europe. The nine chapters include discussions on changes in theoretical approaches, gender complexities and the Millennium Development Goals; social and biological reproduction including differing attitudes to family planning by states and variation in education and access to housing; differences in health and violence at major life stages for women and men and natural disasters and gender roles in rural and urban areas. The penultimate chapter considers the impact of broad economic changes such as the globalization of trade and communications on gender differences in economic activity and the final chapter addresses international progress towards gender equality as measured by the global gender gap. The text is particularly strong on environmental aspects and the new edition builds on this to consider the effects of climate change and declining natural resources illustrated by a case study of changing gender roles in fishing in India. There is also enhanced coverage of topics such as global trade, sport as a development tool, masculinities, and sustainable agriculture. Maps, statistics, references and boxed case studies have been updated throughout and their coverage widened. Gender and Development is the only broad based introduction to the topic written specifically for a student audience. It features student friendly items such as chapter learning objectives, discussion questions, annotated guides to further reading and websites. The text is enlivened throughout with examples and case studies drawn from the author’s worldwide field research and consultancies with international development agencies over four decades and her experience of teaching the topic to undergraduates and postgraduates in many countries. It will be an essential text for a variety of courses on development, women’s studies, sociology, anthropology and geography.

636 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A gender perspective has also helped highlight important aspects of this paradigm, such as the role of collective agency in promoting development as discussed by the authors, and gender analysis has been central to the development of the new agency-driven paradigm, and gender equity is a core concern.
Abstract: Amartya Sen's ideas constitute the core principles of a development approach that has evolved in the Human Development Reports. This approach is a "paradigm" based on the concept of well-being that can help define public policy, but does not embody a set of prescriptions. The current movement from an age of development planning to an age of globalization has meant an increasing attention to agency aspects of development. While earlier Human Development Reports emphasized measures such as the provision of public services, recent ones have focused more on people's political empowerment. This paper reflects on Sen's work in light of this shift in emphasis. Gender analysis has been central to the development of the new agency-driven paradigm, and gender equity is a core concern. A gender perspective has also helped highlight important aspects of this paradigm, such as the role of collective agency in promoting development.

532 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A multidisciplinary model is presented that lays out the pathways by which broadly participatory processes lead to more effective community problem solving and to improvements in community health, and how the model can help researchers answer the fundamental effectiveness and “how-to” questions related to community collaboration.
Abstract: Over the last 40 years, thousands of communities—in the United States and internationally—have been working to broaden the involvement of people and organizations in addressing community-level problems related to health and other areas. Yet, in spite of, this experience, many communities are having substantial difficulty achieving their collaborative objective, and many funders of community partnerships and participation initiatives are looking for ways to get more out of their investment. One of the reasons we are in this predicament is that the practitioners and researchers who are interested in community collaboration come from a variety of contexts, initiatives, and academic disciplines, and few of them have integrated their work with experiences or literatures beyond their own domain. In this article, we seek to overcome some of this fragmentation of effort by presenting a multidisciplinary model that lays out the pathways by which broadly participatory processes lead to more effective community problem solving and to improvements in community health. The model, which builds on a broad array of practical experience as well as conceptual and empirical work in multiple fields, is an outgrowth of a joint-learning work group that was organized to support nine communities in the Turning Point initiative. Following a detailed explication of the model, the article focuses on the implications of the model for research, practice, and policy. It describes how the model can help researchers answer the fundamental effectiveness and “how-to” questions related to community collaboration. In addition, the article explores differences between the model and current practice, suggesting strategies that can help the participants in, and funders of, community collaborations strengthen their efforts.

491 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze Ugandan decentralization program in terms of a dual-mode system of local governance, where under a technocratic mode, conditional funding from the center is earmarked for particular programs but with little local participation.

366 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore some of the more extreme tendencies in the management of public space to consider whether current policy directions, in this case in central Scotland, are driven by a desire to...
Abstract: This paper explores some of the more extreme tendencies in the management of public space to consider whether current policy directions, in this case in central Scotland, are driven by a desire to ...

356 citations


Book
01 Mar 2003
TL;DR: The Challenge for Communities: Myth or Reality? as discussed by the authors ) is a challenge for communities to decide whether community empowerment is a myth or reality, and the challenge is to determine whether it is a reality.
Abstract: Introduction The Policy Context Ideas of Community Contradictions of Community Prescribing Community to the Poor Power and Empowerment Power in the Policy Process Experiencing Empowerment Reclaiming Community Reclaiming Power The Challenge for Communities The Institutional Challenge Community Empowerment: Myth or Reality?

348 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article integrated research on the Pygmalion and Galatea effects with a group socialization model and theories of work motivation and interpersonal leadership, delineated and tested a model of newcomer.
Abstract: Integrating research on the Pygmalion and Galatea effects with a group socialization model and theories of work motivation and interpersonal leadership, we delineated and tested a model of newcomer...

345 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The findings suggest that nursing leaders’ efforts to create empowering work environments can influence nurses’ ability to practice in a professional manner, ensuring excellent patient care quality and positive organizational outcomes.
Abstract: Objective To test a theoretical model linking nurses' perceptions of workplace empowerment, magnet hospital characteristics, and job satisfaction in 3 independent studies of nurses in different work settings. Background Strategies proposed in Kanter's structural empowerment theory have the potential to result in work environments that are described in terms of magnet hospital characteristics. Identifying factors that contribute to work conditions that attract and retain highly qualified committed nurses, such as those found in magnet hospitals, that can be put in place by nursing administrators is extremely important for work redesign to promote professional nursing practice. Methods Secondary analyses of data from 3 studies were conducted--2 of staff nurses and 1 with acute care nurse practitioners working in Ontario, Canada. The Conditions of Work Effectiveness Questionnaire-II, the NWI-R, and measures of job satisfaction were used to measure the major study variables.RESULTS The results of all 3 studies support the hypothesized relationships between structural empowerment and the magnet hospital characteristics of autonomy, control over practice environment, and positive nurse-physician relationships. The combination of access to empowering work conditions and magnet hospital characteristics was significantly predictive of nurses' satisfaction with their jobs. Conclusions/implications These findings suggest that nursing leaders' efforts to create empowering work environments can influence nurses' ability to practice in a professional manner, ensuring excellent patient care quality and positive organizational outcomes.

344 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate transformational leadership in relation to empowerment and team effectiveness and find that the more a team's members experience team empowerment, the more effective the team will be.
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to investigate transformational leadership in relation to empowerment and team effectiveness. As part of an integrative model of leadership, transformational leadership style of superiors is proposed to be related to the strength of subordinate empowerment and team effectiveness. A total of 152 employees from various industries rated their superiors’ transformational leadership behaviors and also how much they felt empowered. They also evaluated their teams’ effectiveness in terms of innovativeness, communication and team performance. Findings suggest that transformational leadership contributes to the prediction of subordinates’ self‐reported empowerment and that the more a team’s members experience team empowerment, the more effective the team will be.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In 2000 the Diabetes Empowerment Scale was developed to measure the psychosocial self-efficacy of people with diabetes and using factor analyses the questionnaire was reduced to the current 28-item DES.
Abstract: In 2000 we developed the Diabetes Empowerment Scale (DES) to measure the psychosocial self-efficacy of people with diabetes. The original questionnaire contained 37 items representing eight conceptual dimensions (i.e., assessing the need for change, developing a plan, overcoming barriers, asking for support, supporting oneself, coping with emotion, motivating oneself, and making diabetes care choices appropriate for one’s priorities and circumstances). Using factor analyses the questionnaire was reduced to the current 28-item DES (α = …

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The adoption of participatory spatial planning (PSP) approaches has been partially supported by developments in participatory-GIS, as seen in applications both in local resource management in developing South countries, and in community neighbourhood planning in the urban North as discussed by the authors.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The concept of social capital plays a key role in these new policies, as it presumably connects local participation, based on horizontal networks and reciprocity, with such positive results as economic growth and democratic intensity, even in distressed, excluded areas as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Only a couple of decades ago urban movements were demanding, usually without much success, increased participation by the grassroots and a democratization of urban politics. Even though they staged what were perceived as ‘urban revolts’ (Castells, 1983: 65) and ‘backyard revolutions’ (Boyte, 1980), the structures of local decisionmaking did not open up very far; established interests in urban renewal hardly budged. Meanwhile, however, the movements’ demands appear to have become reality: the way politicians, urban scholars and activists in urban development now all highlight the importance of grassroots empowerment and citizen participation for dealing with urban problems makes it look as if success has finally been achieved. The topic of urban ‘exclusion’ is finally on the official agenda; policy-makers of all stripes apply not only the rhetoric of grassroots participation, but also a variety of programs addressing urban problems that seek to incorporate and harness community-based interests and local activism. What might appear as the fulfilment of earlier grassroots empowerment claims is actually part of a new mode of governance that has emerged in and for neglected and disadvantaged areas and communities. 1 Their ‘exclusion’ is now described as having a new, more multidimensional character than that which inequality or segregation formerly described, and the need for new policies to address this problematic side of neoliberalism seems uncontested. The concept of ‘social capital’ plays a key role in these new policies, as it presumably connects local participation, based on horizontal networks and reciprocity, with such positive results as economic growth and democratic intensity, even — or especially — in distressed, excluded areas. Through examining the way ‘social capital’ has been deployed by researchers and practitioners in the field of urban movements and community development, this article reveals the powerful and in many ways effective role the concept is playing in framing the contemporary reconfigurations in local state-society relations, impacting especially on the trajectory of third or voluntary sector development. It does so by exemplifying a more general trend of dissolving social and political perspectives into economic ones, by painting a variety of different kinds of civic engagement into a single — positively charged — corner, and thereby creating a new framework for dealing with urban inequality and poverty that appears to involve mobilization from below but does so in an extremely circumscribed and biased way.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors tested a model in which empowerment was hypothesised to mediate the relationship between psychological climate and job satisfaction, and found that the dimensions of meaning and competence were largely responsible for mediating effects of empowerment.
Abstract: This study tested a model in which empowerment was hypothesised to mediate the relationship between psychological climate and job satisfaction. Individual levels of negative affectivity were controlled for. The sample consisted of 174 customer service employees (59% female and 39% male). Support was found for a model in which empowerment mediated the relationship between climate and job satisfaction, the dimensions of meaning and competence were largely responsible for the mediating effects of empowerment. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings were explored.

Book
28 Feb 2003
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a brief history of poverty reduction policies putting gender on the policy agenda and integrate gender into macroeconomic analysis, including gender bias in Macroeconomic Analysis.
Abstract: Abbreviations Foreword Executive Summary 1. Gender, Poverty and Development Policy Introduction A Brief History of Poverty Reduction Policies Putting Gender on the Policy Agenda 2. Integrating Gender into Macroeconomic Analysis Introduction Gender Bias in Macroeconomic Analysis Empirical Findings Gender Equity and Economic Growth: Competing Hypothesis Conclusion 3. The Geography of Gender Inequality Introduction Institutions and Gender Inequality Regional Perspectives on Gender Equality Updating the Geography of Gender Classifying Gender Constraints Conclusion 4. Approaches to Poverty Analysis and its Gender Dimensions Introduction The Poverty Line Approach The Capabilities Approach Participatory Poverty Assessments (PPAs) Conclusion 5. Gender Inequality and Poverty Eradication: Promoting Household Livelihoods Introduction Gender Inequality and Household Poverty in South Asia Gender Inequality and Household Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa Links Between Gender Inequality and Income Poverty: The Wider Picture Conclusion 6. Gender Equality and Human Development Outcomes: Enhancing Capabilities Introduction Gender Inequality and Human Development: The Equity Rationale Gender Inequality and Family Well-being: The Instrument Rationale Conclusion 7. Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Introduction Conceptualising Empowerment: Agency, Resources and Achievement Access to Education and Women's Empowerment Access to Paid Work and Women's Empowerment Voice, Participation and Women's Empowerment Agency and Collective Action: Building Citizenship from the Grassroots Conclusion 8. Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Introduction Gender Equality and Economic Growth: Synergy or Trade-off? Poverty Reduction Strategy papers (PRSPs): A Gender Audit Gender-responsive Budget (GRB) Analysis Mainstreaming Gender in Policy-making Institutions Mobilising around Gender Equity Goals: Building active Citizenship Conclusion Select Bibliography Glossary

Journal ArticleDOI
Anna Craft1
TL;DR: Since the end of the 1990s, creativity has become a growing area of interest once more within education and wider society as mentioned in this paper and this growth in emphasis and value placed on encouraging creativity can be seen as being in stark contrast with the government policy prevalent from the late 1980s onward.
Abstract: Since the end of the 1990s, creativity has become a growing area of interest once more within education and wider society. In England creativity is now named within the school curriculum and in the curriculum for children aged 3–5. There are numerous government and other initiatives to foster individual and collective creativity, some of this through partnership activity bringing together the arts, technology, science and the social sciences. As far as education is concerned, this growth in emphasis and value placed on encouraging creativity can be seen as being in stark contrast with the government policy prevalent from the late 1980s onward. One of the underpinning themes and justifications for this re-kindling of interest in fostering creativity is that the individual and collective empowerment which is fostered by the development of creative skill is seen to be a good thing at the social and economic level in particular (Craft, 2002). These justifications have been discussed elsewhere (Jeffrey and Cr...

BookDOI
21 May 2003
TL;DR: The role of community in urban policy is discussed in this article, where Rob Imrie and Mike Raco discuss the importance of community involvement in urban regeneration, and the evidence for the need to address urban exclusion through community involvement.
Abstract: Part One: The role of community in urban policy - debates: The importance of community in urban policy Rob Imrie and Mike Raco Social capital and neighbourhood renewal Ade Kearns Community regeneration and the discursive construction of 'urban renaissance' Loretta Lees Part Two: Community involvement in urban policy - the evidence: Addressing urban exclusion through community involvement in urban regeneration: possibilities and constraints Rob Atkinson Community participation in multi-level urban governance Annette Hastings 'Pathways to integration': community involvement in urban regeneration on Merseyside Richard Meegan Community action and partnerships for urban regeneration - new sites of struggle? Peter North Contradictions in 'tackling social exclusion' in communities: issues of redistribution, recognition and respect in a Single Regeneration Project in Blackbird Leys estate, Oxford Zoe Morrison Community, disability and the discourses of the Single Regeneration Budget Claire Edwards Citizenship, community and participation in small towns: a case study of regeneration partnerships Mark Goodwin Economy, equity or empowerment? Urban policy evaluation and discourses of community involvement Stuart Wilks-Heeg Part Three: The future for community in urban policy: The new urban policy: towards empowerment or incorporation? Allan Cochrane Assessing the prospects for community involvement in urban policy: will 'community' remain a meaningful term? Mike Raco.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present six specific propositions relating to organizational constitution and trust as controls for tempering the potential downside of empowerment, including the possibility of control loss and decreased organizational outcome.
Abstract: There is a growing belief among some that employee empowerment provides the most appropriate basis for designing and implementing new organizations. However, from a structural perspective, empowerment represents a moral hazard dilemma for managers, with the possibility of control loss and decreased organizational outcome. While there are several mechanisms for tempering the potential downside of empowerment, we focus on two: organizational constitutions and the development of trusting relationships. We present six specific propositions relating to organizational constitution and trust as controls for tempering the potential downside of empowerment.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, two studies were conducted to investigate the predicted effect of empowerment on employees' job knowledge and found that there was a substantial increase in job knowledge, particularly among less experienced employees.
Abstract: Two studies were conducted to investigate the predicted effect of empowerment on employees' job knowledge. Study 1 developed a measure of job knowledge, based on knowledge elicitation techniques, for use in work settings. Study 2 used that measure to examine change in employee knowledge following an empowerment initiative. Findings showed a substantial increase in job knowledge, particularly among less experienced employees. Improvements were also recorded for employee self-confidence and strain, but not for motivation or job satisfaction. The wider theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Book
01 Nov 2003
TL;DR: In the South Pacific region, tourism and development: theories and relationships as mentioned in this paper, empowerment and sustainability through village ownership, empowerment at the national level, empowerment and disempowerment at the village level.
Abstract: Introduction. Tourism and development: theories and relationships. What is empowerment? Tourism development in the South Pacific. International cooperation or disguised dependency? The South Pacific region. Empowerment at the national level. Empowerment and disempowerment at the village level. Empowerment and sustainability through village ownership. Sustainability through empowerment and an adaptive response. Tourism development, sustainability and empowerment. References.

Book
01 Jan 2003
TL;DR: The challenges of managing people in construction have been discussed in this article, with a focus on workforce diversity, equal opportunities, and work-life balance in the construction industry, as well as the HRM Implications of Management Thinking, Trends & Fads: Crosscutting HRM Themes for the New Millennium.
Abstract: Preface. 1. Introduction: The Challenges of Managing People in Construction. 2. The Development of Modern Organization and Management Theory. 3. Human Resource Management Theory: Strategic Concepts and Operational Implications. 4. Strategic Approaches to Managing Human Resources in the Construction Industry. 5. The Mechanics of Human Resource Management in Construction: Resourcing, Development and Reward. 6. Employee Relations. 7. Employee Participation, Involvement and Empowerment in Construction. 8. Workforce Diversity, Equal Opportunities and Work-life Balance In Construction. 9. Employees' Health, Safety and Welfare. 10. Strategic Human Resource Development. 11. The HRM Implications of Management Thinking, Trends & Fads: Cross-Cutting HRM Themes for the New Millennium. 12. Conclusions: SHRM as a Route to Improved Business Performance.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Whether magnet hospitals continue to provide higher levels of job satisfaction and empowerment among nurses when compared with non-magnet hospitals and whether job satisfaction discrepancy was interlinked with leadership effectiveness and support of professional nursing practice is examined.
Abstract: This study examined whether magnet hospitals continue to provide higher levels of job satisfaction and empowerment among nurses when compared with non-magnet hospitals. Also studied at both types of hospitals was whether job satisfaction discrepancy was interlinked with leadership effectiveness and support of professional nursing practice. Nurses employed at magnet hospitals experienced higher levels of empowerment and job satisfaction due to greater access to work empowerment structures. The elements accounting for differences in empowerment and job satisfaction scores included: (1) greater accessibility of magnet nurse leaders, (2) better support of clinical nurse autonomous decision making by magnet nurse leaders, and (3) greater access to work empowerment structures such as opportunity, information, and resources at magnet hospitals.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The benefits of tourism identified by this study included revival of Djabugay culture, employment opportunities, working together with other Djabungay community members, increased cross-cultural understanding, and improved material welfare as mentioned in this paper.

Book
02 Sep 2003
TL;DR: This paper examined a wide range of migration patterns which have arisen, and exposes the tensions and difficulties including: * legal and empowerment issues * cultural and language diversities and barriers * the impact of live-in employment.
Abstract: This book examines a wide range of migration patterns which have arisen, and exposes the tensions and difficulties including: * legal and empowerment issues * cultural and language diversities and barriers * the impact of live-in employment. The book features case studies taken from Europe, South and North America, the Caribbean, Asia, and Africa and uses original fieldwork using quantitative and qualitative methods.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe work underway to enrich the present tools to measure women's empowerment, particularly the Gender-related development index (GDI) and the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM).
Abstract: This paper describes work underway to enrich the present tools to measure women's empowerment -- particularly the Gender-related Development Index (GDI) and the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM). The authors are developing an African Gender and Development Index (AGDI) on behalf of the Economic Commission for Africa, which is to be launched in 2004. The paper begins with a discussion of gender and power concepts, and then introduces a Women' s Empowerment Matrix as a tool to help link socio-cultural, religious, political, legal, and economic spheres. It then raises some of the difficulties related to the calculation of the GDI and GEM, which the authors are taking into account in the AGDI.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the effect of micro-credit program participation on women's empowerment has been evaluated by applying an analytical framework that recognizes the conceptual shift in emphasis in the definition of empowerment, from notions of greater well-being of women to notions of women's choice and active agency.
Abstract: This article re-assesses the effect of microcredit programme participation on women's empowerment by applying an analytical framework that recognizes the conceptual shift in emphasis in the definition of empowerment, from notions of greater well-being of women to notions of women's choice and active agency in the attainment of greater well-being. The author finds that microcredit programme participation has only a limited direct effect in increasing women's access to choice-enhancing resources, but has a much stronger effect in increasing women's ability to exercise agency in intra-household processes. Consequently, programme participation is able to increase women's welfare and possibly to reduce male bias in welfare outcomes, particularly in poor households.

Posted Content
TL;DR: The experiment presented here links Multi-Agent Systems and Role-Playing Games within a self-design and use process to test direct modeling design of these tools by stakeholders, with as little prior design work by the modeler as possible.
Abstract: As agricultural and environmental issues are more and more inter-linked, the increasing multiplicity of stakeholders, with differing and often conflicting land use representations and strategies, underlines the need for innovative methods and tools to support their coordination, mediation and negotiation processes aiming at an improved, more decentralized and integrated natural resources management. But how can technology fit best with such a novel means of support? Even the present participatory modeling method is not really designed to avoid this technocratic drift and encourage the empowerment of stakeholders in the land use planning process. In fact, to truly integrate people and principals in the decision-making process of land use management and planning, information technology should not only support a mere access to information but also help people to participate fully in its design, process and usage. That means allow people to use the modeling support not to provide solutions, but to help people to steer their course within an incremental, iterative, and shared decision-making process. To this end, since 1997 we have experimented at an operational level (2500 km2) in the Senegal River valley a Self-Design Method that places modeling tools at stakeholders' and principals' disposal, right from the initial stages. The experiment presented here links Multi-Agent Systems and Role-Playing Games within a self-design and use process. The main objective was to test direct modeling design of these tools by stakeholders, with as little prior design work by the modeler as possible. This "self-design" experiment was organized in the form of participatory workshops which has led on discussions, appraisals, and decisions about planning land use management, already applied two years after the first workshops. (Resume d'auteur)

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article used a political empowerment approach to explore the effect that descriptive representation in legislatures has on levels of political alienation among Latinos, finding that the presence of Latino representatives in the state assembly, state senate, and/or U.S. House is associated with lower levels of economic inequality among Latino constituents.
Abstract: Objective. This article uses a political empowerment approach to explore the effect that descriptive representation in legislatures has on levels of political alienation among Latinos. Methods. Using data from the 1997 Tomas Rivera Policy Institute post-election survey carried out in California and Texas, supplemented with data on the ethnicity of legislators serving each respondent, we test this political empowerment thesis. Results. The presence of Latino representatives in the state assembly, state senate, and/or U.S. House is associated with lower levels of political alienation among Latino constituents. The effect is modest, and we find that other factors—demographic, political, and ethnic-specific—also exert powerful influences on levels of political alienation among Latinos. Conclusions. Although finding modest evidence for the political empowerment thesis, descriptive representation alone is not a panacea for creating politically engaged personas among Latinos.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Action research was intended to be emancipatory research, and it still is as discussed by the authors, and the most important task of action researchers is to develop refined heuristics concerning this communication.
Abstract: Right from the start. action research was intended to be emancipatory research, and it still is. This article will underpin this by outlining its history and the present state of the art. Though a variety of action research approaches have developed along divergent theoretical pathways, it will be stressed that these approaches share the most important characteristics of action research and are basically different applications of different action theories. They are all Supported by a participatory worldview and are meant to be a double-sided process of research. self research and education directed at individual empowerment and collective empowerment and/or emancipation. Since the relationship between the researcher and the subjects being researched is crucial for the success of action research as ail emancipatory or empowering activity. this article will maintain that the most important task of action researchers is to develop refined heuristics concerning this communication. The article will end by making some recommendations for the improvement of action research as ail emancipatory practice. Copyright (C) 2003 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.