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Immigration is important to Canada and Canadian society in many ways. Leading the G8 group of countries with the highest proportion of foreign-born population, immigrants make up an important part of the Canadian economy and society (Statistics Canada, 2013). As noted by several authors, much of the literature surrounding newcomer settlement concentrates on either young children or adults, leaving a gap in research into settlement experiences of adolescents (Anisef & Kilbride, 2003; Berry, Phinney, Sam, & Vedder, 2006; Janzen & Ochocka, 2003; Omidvar & Richmond, 2003). The purpose of this research project is to explore important community places, themes around settlement, and welcoming communities with newcomer youth in the context of stories surrounding maps of their community. The data were collected as part of a larger project exploring engagement of traditionally underrepresented groups in community-based planning practices. Over the course of the three-day African-Canadian Youth Leadership Project in 2011, thirteen immigrant youth participated in leadership and research activities. The current study focuses on data gathered through a cognitive mapping exercise conducted as part of that larger project. Through thematic narrative analysis of interview transcripts, videos, and maps, major themes of home and family, social places, and support networks emerged as being connected to important places in the context of settlement and the perception of a welcoming community. Issues of safety and exclusion were also raised in participants??? stories. These themes are explored as they connect to place, which grounds a discussion of family connections, social capital, and third places contributing to newcomers??? sense of place, and therefore their experience of places in the community. The importance of bridging social capital is also illustrated, including the links to places in the community that share characteristics of Oldenburg???s (1999) third places. Leisure settings were prominent examples of such places in newcomer youth???s stories and maps, often as context for social learning, language skill development, and fostering social connections. Findings show support for Seat???s idea of settlement as being conceived of full engagement in the host society, as well as the feeling of fitting in (2000). Potential benefits of this and similar research include a greater understanding of newcomer youth settlement experiences, contributing to theory and grounding the settlement experience in the concept of place. Issues of bridging social connections and the importance of the community???s role in newcomer engagement might facilitate policy and planning considerations for creating welcoming communities and community places.

Thesis (B.A. (Hons.)) - University of Queensland, 2004. / Includes bibliography.

Cette recherche doctorale s'inscrit dans la continuité des travaux sur la RSE en milieu PME et vise à clarifier la relation entre les représentations RSE des dirigeants et les pratiques responsables adoptées par les PME. En effet, la majorité des travaux académiques sur la RSE en milieu PME s'accordent à dire que l'engagement des PME dans une démarche responsable est fortement influencé par les représentations que se fait le dirigeant de la RSE sans toutefois clarifier la question du lien entre perception et pratiques RSE, qui reste donc inexplorée. Dès lors, dans cette réflexion nous cherchons à identifier les relations entre les représentations RSE des dirigeants et les pratiques responsables en milieu PME. Dans ce sens, une étude exploratoire est menée auprès de dix dirigeants de PME qui ont soit explicitement intégré toute ou partie (sociale ou environnementale) de la démarche RSE de leur entreprise, soit mis en place des actions responsables sans toutefois les intégrer dans la stratégie. Cette recherche s'appuie sur dix entretiens semi directifs et un recueil documentaire. À partir de ces données dix cartes cognitives sont construites et une matrice de démarches RSE est élaborée. L'analyse des données met en évidence un certain nombre de représentions communes associées à chaque démarche RSE. / This doctoral research aims to clarify the relationship between the manager representations of CSR and the responsible practices of SMEs. Indeed, the majority of academician researches on CSR in SMEs agree that the involvement of SMEs in a responsible approach is strongly influenced by the manager representations of the CSR but doesn't clarify the link between perception and CSR behavior. which remains unexplored. Therefore. in this reflection we seek to identify the relationship between the manager representations of CSR and responsible practices in SMEs. In this sense. an exploratory study was conducted in ten SME who have. either explicitly incorporated all or part (social or environmental) of the CSR in their strategy, either make responsible actions but do not integrate them into strategy. This research is based on ten semi-structured interviews and documentary collection. From these data ten cognitive maps are constructed and an array of CSR initiatives is developed. The data analysis highlights a number of common representations associated each with CSR.

Interdisciplinaridade é um termo que tem sido bastante utilizado no contexto educacional. A proposta deste trabalho é a de investigar os significados de interdisciplinaridade presentes na literatura e nos documentos oficiais educacionais brasileiros e compará-los com as concepções desse termo apresentadas por alguns professores. Para tanto, realizamos uma análise minuciosa da literatura e dos documentos oficiais (LDB, PCNEM, PCN+ e OCEM) buscando revelar as visões de interdisciplinaridade apresentadas. Na seqüência, realizamos entrevistas semi-estruturadas com dezesseis professores, oito dos quais atuantes no nível superior e pesquisadores na área de Ensino de Ciências (seis desses foram também consultores do MEC na elaboração dos documentos oficiais supracitados). Além desses, entrevistamos sete professores atuantes no Ensino Médio, três dos quais mestrandos em Ensino de Química. Das entrevistas foram selecionadas \"unidades de análise\" e mapas cognitivos foram construídos. A partir das análises da literatura, dos documentos oficiais e dos mapas cognitivos, foi possível categorizar duas concepções de interdisciplinaridade que diferem epistemologicamente e metodologicamente: i.) a partir do professor; ii.) entre professores. A concepção a partir do professor encontra eco nas proposições de Piaget, Jantasch, Bianchetti, Bertalanffy e nos documentos PCNEM e PCN+. Dos professores entrevistados, somente três estão de acordo com essa visão. Por outro lado, a defesa de uma proposta de interdisciplinaridade entre professores é defendida por Gusdorf, Japiassu, Santomé, Fazenda, Machado, Zabala e pelos documentos OCEM de 2004 e 2006. Essa também é a concepção da maioria dos professores entrevistados (treze de dezesseis). Os dados apontam que a interdisciplinaridade convive com concepções diversas, revelando uma polissemia. Para os professores do Ensino Médio em exercício, entretanto, parece prevalecer a concepção de interdisciplinaridade entre professores. A proposta interdisciplinar num grupo de professores pode estar revelando, mais do que uma concepção epistemológica, uma necessidade de orientação sobre como efetuá-la na prática. / Interdisciplinarity is a term that has been broadly used in educational context. The aim of this work is to investigate the interdisciplinarity conceptions that occur in the literature and in the Brazilian official documents and to compare such conceptions to teachers\' understanding of this term. For this, we performed a thorough analysis of both the literature and the official documents (LDB, PCNEM, PCN+ and OCEM) in order to reveal the different views of interdisciplinarity. Next, we carried out semi-structured interviews with sixteen teachers; eight among them are University teachers and academic researchers in Science Education (six of these scholars had been consulting of the previously mentioned official documents). We also interviewed seven High School teachers, three of them enrolled in a Chemical Education graduate program. From the interviews, we selected \"units of analysis\" and assembled cognitive maps. From the analysis of the literature, the official documents and the cognitive maps, two conceptions of interdisciplinarity that differ both epistemologically and methodologically were categorized: i.) within the teacher; and ii.) between teachers. The conception within the teacher relates to the propositions of Piaget, Jantasch, Bianchetti, Bertalanffy and to the PCNEM and PCN+ documents. Among the interviewed teachers, only three share this view. On the other hand, the idea of interdisciplinary between teachers is expressed by Gusdorf, Japiassu, Santomé, Fazenda, Machado and Zabala and by the OCEM (2004 and 2006) documents. This conception is also encountered in most of the interviewed teachers (thirteen out of sixteen). The data suggest that the interdisciplinarity concept coexists with very distinct interpretations, unveiling its polyssemic nature. For the in-service High School teachers, however, the conception of interdisciplinarity between teachers seems to prevail. The interdisciplinar approach in a group of teachers may be revealing, more than an epistemological conception, a need for orientation as regard to how to put it into practice.

There can be little dispute that today's society makes extensive use of mass media. Movies, television, and radio are far more prominent today than ten years ago, both locally and globally. We rely on these forms of communication for news and information and entertainment and recreation. New technologies increase our access and our dependence on mass media. In fact, in the U.S. the average person spends 40 percent of their time attending to television at some level (Adams, 1992). Adams then goes on to say that culture and television are clearly involved in reciprocal relations: television affects culture, but culture also affects television (Adams, 1992). It should come as no surprise, therefore, that generational differences in recreation are far more prominent today than they were twenty years ago. Indeed, we are a passive society dependent upon technology and the creativity of others for pleasure. The Internet and television of today have replaced the bicycle and board games of yesterday in terms of babysitting the young for hours on end. Almost all major types of entertainment come from the viewing of some sort of screen or monitor, with children spending vast amounts of time engaging in these passive activities. By the age of sixteen, a contemporary child has probably spent more time watching television than he/she has attending school or doing chores. However, entertainment is only one use for mass media. For example, the term "Information Age" refers to much more than recreation. Large quantities of information can be acquired through these forms of transmission. Unfortunately, false representations are sometimes the goal of those who produce these data media. In addition to the deliberate distortion of truths, those who consume mass media obtain many falsities inadvertently. A perfect example of this is stereotyping. All too often, one's only exposure to certain regions and/or peoples is obtained through television and movies. Instead of becoming familiar with specific facts about cultures, conclusions are drawn based upon viewing and hearing popular culture material. Stereotypes of cultural groups create myths about their respective geographic regions and vice-versa. We are well aware of these myths (for example, the idea that all Southerners are dumb) but what is their link to place perception? How are mental constructs of regions related to cultural stereotypes? How have popular culture and mass media affected stereotypes? / Master of Science

L'énergie est fondamentale pour maintenir le confort et façonne notre vie moderne. Avec la demande excédentaire en énergie, les systèmes de gestion de l’énergie résidentielle apparaissent avec le temps. Ils visent à réduire ou moduler la consommation d’énergie tout en maintenant un niveau de confort acceptable. Des systèmes efficaces de gestion de l'énergie domestique devraient intégrer une représentation comportementale d'un système domestique, y compris les habitants. Il établit des relations entre différentes variables environnementales et des phénomènes hétérogènes présents dans une maison. Par conséquent, ces systèmes sont complexes à construire et à comprendre pour les habitants. Pour cette raison, les concepteurs ont essayé d'automatiser autant que possible les systèmes de CVC, les éclairages ... afin de promouvoir le concept de "faire à la place". Cela était justifié car il était presque impossible d'impliquer les occupants et de créer une relation entre les occupants et les systèmes énergétiques. Ce concept crée différents problèmes car les occupants sont détachés du système énergétique et ne comprennent pas ses fonctionnalités ni son fonctionnement.Pour surmonter cette difficulté, ce travail met en avant le concept de "faire avec" en essayant d'impliquer l'occupant dans la boucle avec son système de gestion de l'énergie. C'est là que l'explication est nécessaire pour permettre aux occupants de découvrir les connaissances du système énergétique et de développer leur capacité à comprendre comment le système fonctionne et pourquoi il recommande différentes actions. L'explication est le moyen de découvrir de nouvelles connaissances et, par conséquent, d'impliquer les occupants. Pour les humains, l'explication joue un rôle important dans la vie. C'est l'un des principaux outils d'apprentissage et de compréhension. Il est même utilisé dans la communication et les aspects sociaux. Les gens ont tendance à l'utiliser en plus d'apprendre à montrer leurs connaissances sur un sujet pour gagner la confiance des autres ou pour clarifier une situation. Mais générer des explications n’est pas une tâche facile. C'est l'un des problèmes scientifiques récurrents de plusieurs décennies. Les explications ont de nombreuses formes, types et niveaux de clarté. Cette étude se concentre sur les explications causales. Comme il s’agit de la forme d’explication la plus intuitive à comprendre par les occupants, elle est conçue pour transférer les connaissances issues de systèmes complexes tels que les modèles énergétiques. Le défi scientifique est de savoir comment construire des explications de causalité pour les habitants à partir d’un flux de données de capteurs observées. / Energy is fundamental to maintain comfort and it shapes our modern life. With the excess demand for energy, home energy management systems are appearing with time. They aim at reducing or modulating energy consumption while keeping an acceptable level of comfort. Efficient home energy management systems should embed a behavioral representation of a home system, including inhabitants. It establishes relationships between different environmental variables and heterogeneous phenomena present in a home. Therefore, those systems are complex to build and to understand for inhabitants. For this reason, the designers did try to automatize as much as possible the HVAC systems, the lightings ... so they promoted the concept of “doing instead”. This was justified as it was nearly impossible to implicate occupants and to create a relation between occupants and energy systems. This concept does create different problems as occupants are detached from the energy system and they don’t understand its functionality nor how it is working.To overcome this difficulty this work promotes the concept of “doing with” as it tries to implicate the occupant in the loop with their energy management system. This is where the explanation is needed to allow occupants to discover the knowledge in the energy system and to develop their capacity of understanding how the system is working and why it is recommending different actions. The explanation is the way to discover new knowledge and consequently, to involve occupants. For humans, explanation plays an important role in life. It is one of the main tools for learning and understanding. It is even used in communication and social aspects. People tend to use it besides learning to show their knowledge about a subject to gain the confidence of others or to clarify a situation. But generating explanations is not an easy task. It is one of the ongoing scientific problems from several decades. Explanations have numerous forms, types, and level of clearness. This study is focusing on the causal explanations. As it is the most intuitive form of explanation to be understood by occupants and is adapted to transfer the knowledge from complex systems like energy models. The scientific challenge is how to construct causal explanations for the inhabitants from a flow of observed sensor data.

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Psychology, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 18-22).

Thesis (M.A. (Interactive Digital Media))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities, 2016. / The focus of this research paper is on the relationship between wayfinding and interactive, immersive environments. Wayfinding systems inherently exist to assist people on a journey to a desired destination. Interactive immersive environments have introduced a new paradigm, in which users are becoming active participants within both physical and virtual environments. The merging of wayfinding with immersive environments could thus present potential to propel wayfinding to a new level. The effectiveness and applications of wayfinding systems within three immersive environments is therefore determined by looking at the design of informational wayfinding, the ease of navigability within immersive environments and the adaptation and use of wayfinding techniques within four case studies. The three immersive environments chosen to be examined within this paper are: physically immersive environments, digital physically immersive environments and virtual immersive environments. These environments are represented by four case studies which include Menlyn Park Shopping Centre's newly updated wayfinding system, Find Your Way Essex, a virtual wayfinding mobile application, StreetMuseum: Museum of London a purely digital mobile application and Honeywell - Virtual Museum Tour, a virtual wayfinding experience that relies fully on the GoogleCardboard device. / GR2017

Esta tese, utilizando-se do mapa cognitivo Strategic Options Development and Analysis - SODA, se propôs a atender o objetivo nela especificado, ou seja, avaliar a importância do comprometimento organizacional para a implementação de um Sistema de Gestão Ambiental SGA por parte dos quinze Gerentes de uma Instituição Pública Federal, localizada no estado de São Paulo. Os dados que compuserem o mapa cognitivo, foram obtidos por meio de entrevista face a face, no período de maio a novembro de 2015, e de reuniões grupais com os referidos Gerentes, no período de dezembro de 2015 a março de 2016. A utilização do método de estruturação de problemas - Problem Structuring Methods (PSMs) - mapa cognitivo - SODA possibilitou investigar, as possíveis incertezas, complexidades e conflitos, voltados para o elemento comprometimento, provenientes da adoção de uma gestão ambiental, por intermédio da implementação de um Sistema de Gestão Ambiental SGA. O resultado da análise do mapa cognitivo demonstrou a importância do comprometimento organizacional quando da intenção de se adotar um Sistema de Gestão Ambiental. Diferentemente do entendimento de Barbieri (2007), o presente estudo coloca a importância desse comportamento não somente por parte da alta direção, mas também por parte de toda a equipe a ser envolvida nas atividades concernentes a tal sistema. Permitiu também a construção de um modelo de mensuração do comprometimento em relação ao Sistema de Gestão Ambiental SGA. O comprometimento mensurado por meio de referido instrumento, está dividido em dois componentes: afetivo que tem o comprometimento como um apego, como um envolvimento, onde ocorre a identificação com a empresa, funcionários com forte comprometimento afetivo permanecem na empresa porque querem, e normativo o comprometimento como uma obrigação em permanecer na organização, funcionários identificados com esse comportamento permanecem na empresa porque sentem que tem essa obrigação. O modelo de mensuração do comprometimento neste estudo sugerido, a ser validado em estudos longitudinais, permitirá mapear elementos de forma que possam observar tendências. Referido instrumento não foi validado neste estudo, no entanto sugere-se que estudos futuros, por meio de estudos longitudinais procedam sua validação. / This thesis, using the Cognitive Map Strategic Options Development and Analysis (SODA), is proposed to meet the objective specified therein, i.e. to evaluate the importance of the organizational commitment to the implementation of an Environmental Management System (SGA), by the fifteen Managers of a Federal Public Institution, located in the state of São Paulo. The data composing the cognitive map were obtained through a face-to-face interview, from May to November 2015, and group meetings with the aforementioned managers from December 2015 to March 2016. The use of the Problem Structuring Methods (PSMs) SODA cognitive map made it feasible to investigate possible uncertainties, complexities and conflicts, related to the commitment element, from the adoption of the environmental management through the implementation of An Environmental Management System EMS. The results of the cognitive map analysis showed the importance of the organizational commitment, when an Environmental Management System is intended to be adopted. Differently from Barbieri\'s (2007) understanding, the present study places the importance of this behavior, not only by the top management, but also by the whole team to be involved in the activities related to such a system. It, also, allowed the construction of a commitment measurement model in relation to the Environmental Management System - EMS. The commitment measured by this instrument is divided into two components: affective, which has the commitment as an attachment and, even, involvement, where the identification with the company occurs: employees with strong affective commitment remain in the company because they want it and, also, as normative involvement. The commitment is felt as an obligation to remain in the organization: employees identified with this behavior remain in the company because they feel they should do it. The model of commitment measurement in this suggested survey, to be validated in longitudinal studies, will allow elements to be mapped so that trends may be observed. The mentioned instrument was not validated in this study, however, it is suggested that future research, through longitudinal studies, would do it.