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Democratic decentralization is the process of devolving the state’s roles and resources from the centre to the lower-level elected officials to encourage greater direct participation of people in governance. The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act (1993), which gave the constitutional mandate to the Panchayati Raj Institutions in India, is considered as an opportunity for historically marginalized groups like women, Dalits (Scheduled Caste) and others to actively engage in the grassroot governance as members of local government institutions. Further, gram panchayats have been mandated for formulating their own annual development plan for economic development and social justice in their area. Although in these 25 years, since the enactment of the Act, various measures have been introduced through Panchayati Raj Institutions for increasing people’s participation and effective implementation of developmental programmes, but there is a little or no evidences—either the theoretical or the empirical, which can give a hint on its performance on social and political inclusion of marginalized communities. Against this backdrop, this empirical research paper attempts to explore the linkages between the democratic decentralization and socio-political inclusion of marginalized, by focussing on the Musahar community in Bihar state of India, using primary data collected from the field. The researchers argue that decentralization has ameliorated the social inclusion to some extent but shows very dismal rate of political inclusion of the Musahar Community.

While political philosophers have paid a great deal of attention to providing a theory of secession for cases of nations breaking away from nation-states, little has been said about perhaps the most common type of secession — school district secession. I argue that while there is no principled prohibition against school district secession, there are presumptions against the practice. After discussing why justice requires that all children are provided with an education that is autonomy-facilitating and also meets the standards of equality of opportunity, I show that many arguments offered for school district secession do not meet the criteria for justice. Finally, I investigate one policy alternative that concerned parents (at least those with more principled reasons for school district secession) may consider to mitigate their need to secede in cases where they seek more direct participation in the political decisions of their school districts.

This article examines the Japanese program of Education for International Understanding (EIU) which has as one of its purposes the understanding of global issues and different cultures. This program, usually taught during the period for integrated study instruction at Japanese schools, gives teachers and students opportunities to learn about international issues through the study of geography and the natural environment, often with the direct participation of foreign guests or experts. To gain insight into the theoretical foundations for the Japanese interdisciplinary approach toward EIU, this study examines the actual content and classroom activity within two lessons of the period for integrated study in Ousu elementary school, a typical municipal elementary school in Nagoya, Japan. A case study method based on participant observation was the primary methodological approach for data collection. A detailed description and analysis of the lessons are provided, examining in particular the responses of students to the lesson plans, and to interactions and discussion taking place between teachers, students and international guests. Overall feedback received from participants was positive, suggesting a high level of effectiveness for this model of EIU. The article includes a discussion of the international applicability of Japanese EIU as well as potential areas of further research.

Pediatric residents on block community rotations completed journals and exit interviews regarding their perceptions of the rotation. Three common themes present in residents’ responses were identified via qualitative analysis: enlightenment and attitude change, impact of direct participation, and rotation challenges. Advantages and disadvantages to block rotations in community pediatrics, and their relationship to learning child advocacy skills, are discussed. Finally, the use of journals as a tool to document systems-based practice competency is explored.

The UK was the first country to implement emissions trading as a policy instrument to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the whole of the economy. The paper therefore commences with a description of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme and then continues with a discussion of incentives for UK companies to engage in emissions trading. It then outlines a case for research of companies' experiences of “direct participation” in the Scheme, and presents results obtained from case studies of a set of companies which are “direct participants”. These illustrate the impact of emissions trading on income generation as well as cost savings. The paper then concludes with the observation that emissions trading will take on increased importance with the introduction of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol in 2005, and that further research is therefore required into energy and carbon costs and their possible influences on facilities location.

The dynamics of the Disabler game are complex, not always recognizable, and less than easily manageable. Awareness of the game and a willingness to avoid direct participation can enhance injured worker rehabilitation and decrease costs associated with lost time and productivity. Not playing the Disabler game can make the role of the occupational health nurse more rewarding. The game requires the field upon which to play, and effectively supported DMPs can help eliminate those playing fields.

This articles begins by tracing the changes in trade union attitudes to financial participation, which have generally become more favourable. A number of national case studies are considered. Having reviewed the possible advantages, the author cautions against a number of risks in extending such schemes. In particular care must be taken to avoid them acting as substitutes for direct participation by workers and their representatives in managing the companies in which they work, worker representatives must be consulted and schemes must be inclusive and not serve to exacerbate income differentials or income insecurity.

This article draws on empirical data from the EPOC survey of employee participation in Europe and other data sources to examine cross-nationally the extent of four main forms of participation: collective bargaining, direct participation, indirect (or representative) participation and financial participation. It has been argued that these, taken together, constitute the four `pillars' of a European model. The article concludes by considering whether such a European model of participation already exists in practice in the European Union; or if not, whether there is a trend towards such a model.

This paper seeks to elucidate the phenomenon of employee direct participation (EDP) in contemporary Britain and Australia. EDP encompasses a range of practices, which involve some degree of communication and consultation between management and employees or delegation of responsibility for tasks. We utilize workplace and employee data from the 1995 Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey (AWIRS95) and the 1998 (British) Workplace Employee Relations Survey (WERS98) to assess the extent of usage of various forms of EDP in Britain and Australia. In addition, we assess the extent to which such practices are associated with enhanced employee discretion at work. The results indicate that EDP is widespread in both Britain and Australia, but that it is not associated with enhanced employee discretion.

The interplay between external and internal reality and its analysis is of the essence of psychoanalysis and therefore group analysis. The war situation in the former Yugoslavia offered the authors of this article the opportunity to observe the situation in group analysis at close quarters and by direct participation. By documenting the particular experiences of two patients, one drafted into the war the other the `overdependent emigre', the article focuses on the interplay of the psychopathology of the group members and the group at a certain stage of its development, with the external reality which confronts one or the other of the group members and its influence on the group processes.

The European Foundation's EPOC survey results suggest there is a need to reappraise the relative significance of the two main forms of direct participation: consultation and delegation. Unexpectedly, in the light of the very different priority accorded to them in both the policy and scientific debates, not only does a majority of respondent managers regard the consultative forms of direct participation as more important than the delegative forms but the effects of the consultative forms on a range of indicators of performance are also considered to be at least equal to those of the delegative forms. Intriguingly, too, statistical analysis suggests the consultative forms are more likely to be associated with positive employment trends than delegation.

Employee participation is an important element of the European Social Model and this paper focuses on the extent of the different forms of participation - representative participation; direct participation; and financial participation, as measured in the European Foundation's EPOC survey. The paper examines the findings on these different types of participation separately and finally compares the levels of participation by combining all three systems. By taking this approach, important differences were found across the ten countries surveyed, with Sweden showing the strongest implementation of all types of participation, while Portugal is the weakest, in particular in representation participation arrangements. The paper indicates that there is a wide gap between the desired objective of the European Social Model and the practice of participation in Europe.

In international discussion of new developments in industrial relations at the workplace there is general agreement on the importance of direct employee participation in the organization of work. This article reports some of the results of a wide-ranging study conducted as part of a project initiated by the European Foundation in Dublin. It analyses the position of the organized industrial relations actors in the 15 countries of the European Union. Its focus is on how they understand the concept of direct participation and how they assess the impact of new participative programmes on company performance, work organization and working conditions, and the established system of workplace industrial relations.

After describing the background and current state of historical interests among Japanese developmentalists, this article stresses the value of the direct participation of developmentalists in historical study. Japanese historical materials on childrearing were analysed from a developmental point of view and their relation to cultural, social, and economic contexts in five historical epochs was examined. The results revealed historical continuity of basic beliefs and values in Japanese ethnotheories on childrearing and human development, and their relation to certain structural and functional aspects of Japanese society was demonstrated. A new term, the "ethnopsychological pool of ideas" (EPI), is presented to denote a reservoir of knowledge, practices, sentiments, and values that maintains diverse components across historical periods. The ethnopsychological pool of early modem Japan contained divergent key components based on which a few schools of modem academic theories on child development can be constructed. The analysis suggests that theories of childrearing draw upon naive psychology, expert advice, and scientific psychology, and are mutually related as social constructions based on the ethnopsychological pool of ideas of a particular society.

With a strong economy bringing skill shortages in technical jobs, Austin, Texas, has sought to learn the essentials of the German apprenticeship system for the development of its local youths and to help resolve labor supply problems encountered by local employers. Going beyond the conventional research and study tours, Austin has invited direct participation from European training experts and has established an apprentice exchange for Austin youths with the Chamber of Small and Medium-Sized Firms and Crafts in Koblenz, Austin's sister city in Germany. The Capital Area Training Foundation, an industry-led, nonprofit corporation, was formed to guide the development of the school-to-work system through its affiliated industry steering committees established in each of the region's major industry sectors. These steering committees decide on the industry's approach to working with schools, confirm industry skill standards and curriculum frameworks, provide career information, and organize opportunities for active career exploration and work-based learning.

As interest in work-family linkages has increased, researchers have focused on the two-pcrson career and dual-career couples. These limited foci have obscured the fact that wives of professionals fill a variety of' achievement roles relative to market production. In order to identify these roles and promote more exact work-family research, this article presents a typology of carccr wife achievement roles. The categories of "homemaker," 'background supporter," "teamworker," "parallel worker," and "non-parallel worker" were derived from the career wife literature and comprise a continuum from lesser to greater direct participation in market production.

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972, the authors examine the extent to which absent fathers provide various forms of assistance to their children. They also focus on the gender of children as one factor influencing transfers from absent fathers. The results indicate that absent fathers are much more likely to make child support payments than to provide other forms of assistance, especially when their direct participation is required. The authors also find that the gender of children does not influence the provision of most forms of assistance. They conclude with implications for policy.

In the midst of a sociopolitical debate regarding access to health services, an evaluation is required of the therapeutic impact of the direct participation by some patients in the cost of their psychiatric treatment. Empirical clinical concepts regarding the need for a direct payment of treatment by the patient have evolved. Initial rigorous practice systems have lead to more flexible methods allowing for the recognition of third-party financing. Psychoanalytic theory has addressed the issue most extensively, but other conceptual frameworks have reached similar conclusions as well. The experimental evidence to either support or refute the position that the direct payment of a fee has a beneficial effect on therapeutic outcome remains limited. The focus has been on studying the impact of fee manipulation, but a tested correlation of other motivators such as patient's insight, therapist's attitudes and behaviour and social pressures is mostly lacking. Two patient populations appear to be delineated. Fee participation is of particular value to the financially secure and to the educated while patients in need of less intensive involvement, with reality testing disturbance and limited insight benefit particularly from third party insurance. Different patient populations should have the right to choose different payment options.

'Le travailleur est le seul veritable expert en ce qui concerne son travail' (The worker is the only true expert with regard to his work). (Edmond Maire, General Secretary of the CFDT, 1977) Within the last few years participation has become a widespread word. But what does it stand for? In this article we try to highlight the meaning of the term participation and its political implications for the organization of work. Following the presentation of our theoretical approach, we undertake a limited comparative analysis of the state-controlled measures aiming at the introduction of forms of participation in the Federal Republic of Germany and in France. The main question is: how can direct participation be implemented?

In a field experiment the extent of psychological participation was manipulated for three groups of women operators in the garment industry in Puerto Rico. It was found that a moderate level of participation through representatives led to greater increases in productivity than either a higher level of direct participation or a lower level of indirect participation, again through representatives. This result is compared with that of Coch and French who found that direct participation was more effective than participation through representation. No clear differences were found between the groups on other dependent variables or in the effect of conditioning variables. The main result, as well as trends in the data, suggests that the effects of participation are influenced by cross-cultural variations.

Sweden has introduced schemes of participation widely in its industrial and business organizations. We present in this article data concerning some of the social psychological effects of two forms of participation, indirect and direct, in ten Swedish factories. Indirect participation entails decision making through representatives of the employees; direct participation entails decision making by the employees them selves. Theories propose that participation has the effect of enhancing member reactions such as sense of commitment, favourable attitude and satisfaction in the company and of reducing dysfunctional reactions such as absenteeism. The data from these companies appear consistent with the above theories insofar as direct participation is concerned but not with respect to indirect participation. The data support the view that participation is likely to have the predicted effects on the reactions of members to the extent that participation is felt as a personal experience. Members are likely to feel committed and satisfied, first and foremost to the extent that they perceive themselves personally to have authority to make decisions; second, and in lesser degree, to the extent that they perceive their immediate work group to make decisions, and hardly at all to the extent that they perceive that decisions are made by representatives. These findings are consistent with conclusions drawn earlier by a number of researchers. They are inconsistent with the expectation underlying the laws of participation in Sweden (and in most other countries of Europe) insofar as these laws mandate indirect participation exclusively and are formulated with the expectation that such participation will have the positive psychological outcomes that many advocates of participation claim.

Models of policymaking by regulatory agencies need (1) to avoid focusing on a single causal factor, and (2) include analyses of the costs and efficacy of a variety of instruments—law, budgetary review, appointments, direct participation, evaluative studies—by which external actors can influence agency policy. The article proposes a conceptual framework focusing on advocacy coalitions—that is, actors from a variety of institutions who share a belief system—as a means of dealing with these considerations and as an alternative to the dominant institutional/organizational perspective for understanding policymaking by regulatory agencies.

To enhance the quality and accuracy of salary survey methods, the author suggests using multiple regression procedures that combine sophisticated statistical analysis with direct participation by companies in the survey design.