This thesis addresses the question of divine action in the mind: Is human consciousness a uniquely nonphysical causal joint wherein divine intentions meet natural realities without contravening lawlike physical processes? It is argued that consciousness is not uniquely spiritual but wholly natural (and possibly physical). However, this need not lead to the conclusion that divine action in the mind does not occur. Rather, this thesis argues that noninterventionist causal joint programs (such as those privileging the mind as uniquely open to divine action) are both scientifically implausible and theologically insufficient, resting on questionable metaphysical presuppositions that are not necessitated by either theology or the natural sciences. By discarding the God-nature model implied by contemporary noninterventionist divine action theories, one is freed up to explore theological and metaphysical alternatives for understanding divine action in the mind (and elsewhere). It is argued that a theologically robust theistic naturalism offers a more compelling vision of divine action in the mind than that offered by standard causal joint theories. By affirming that to be fully natural is to be involved with God’s active presence, one is then free to affirm divine action not only in the human mind, but throughout the natural world. This thesis is divided into two parts. Part One engages with the scientific and philosophical literature surrounding human consciousness, and uses debates about the nature of the mind to offer a sustained analysis and critique of what is termed the “standard model” of divine action. It is argued that the noninterventionist, incompatibilist model of divine action that has spurred the development of various causal joint theories is scientifically and theologically insufficient, and that this is seen particularly clearly in recent theories locating (and constraining) divine action in the emergent human mind. Chapter 2 analyses the contemporary divine action scene, arguing that the standard model presumes noninterventionism, incompatibilism, and a high view of the laws of nature. However, the God-world relationship implied by this model is theologically insufficient. Chapter 3 examines Philip Clayton’s divine action theory, which locates divine action in the emergent human mind and is the latest manifestation of the causal joint model described in Chapter 2. After using emergence theory itself to critique Clayton’s approach, the thesis then examines the philosophy and science of consciousness, in Chapters 4 and 5. It is suggested that a physicalist understanding of the mind is a well-supported position. Part Two of the thesis reframes divine action in the mind within an explicitly theological framework. The thesis does this by analysing what is termed the “theological turn” in divine action debates – the recent tendency to react against standard causal joint theories by rejecting the idea that science can say anything about how and whether divine action occurs. Proponents of the theological turn instead understand divine action from explicitly theological perspectives, affirming compatibilist models in which God is seen to work in, through, and with natural processes – precisely because God is never absent from nature in the first place. Such an approach allows theologians to accept physicalist explanations of the mind, precisely because all the natural world is necessarily involved with God. Chapter 6 introduces this theological turn by exploring various versions of naturalism, ultimately suggesting that neither philosophy nor science mandates the sort of metaphysical naturalism assumed not only by those who deny divine action, but (ironically) noninterventionist divine action theorists as well. Chapters 7, 8, and 9 then introduce, compare, and contrast three different versions of strong theistic naturalism: Thomism, panentheistic naturalism, and pneumatological naturalism. While each of these explicitly theological frameworks is distinctive, they share an affirmation of the intimate relationship between God’s immanent, active presence in the natural world, and suggest the naturalised mind as a relatively intense locus of divine action, as human minds actively participate in and with God. It is concluded that the participatory ontology supported by these theistic naturalisms does, after all, suggest the mind as a locus of intensified divine action – but for very different reasons than those motivating causal joint theorists.

Cette thèse analyse la relation entre la politique de santé “différenciée”, le territoire et l’Indianité, en s’appuyant sur les références conceptuelles de la sociologie de l’action publique locale, à partir de l’étude de la Terre indigène du Haut Rio Guama (TIARG) au Nord-Est de l’Etat du Para, un territoire revendiqué par ses habitants, le peuple Tembé-Tenetehar et, en particulier, les communautés de Guama et de Gurupi. Le processus principal sur lequel s’appuie cette recherche concerne l’appropriation du discours public sur la politique de santé “différenciée” par les leaders Tembés, en particulier la manière dont ils réussissent à l’utiliser comme ressource politique dans la conduite d’actions pour la défense de leur identité associée à la défense de leur territoire. Ce territoire ”hibride” se presente comme animé et construit à partir de références symboliques, cosmologiques, propres à une culture singulière qui contribuent à la production d’une action publique locale et d’un système d’acteurs ; une action locale qui se concrétise dans un domaine de compétences qui concerne un des secteurs du servisse public, celui de la santé.Partagées entre les droits sociaux particuliers du fait de leur Indianité et les droits sociaux universels, les deux communautés s’efforcent d’amplifier leurs ressources et de développer de nouvelles stratégies de manière à intégrer dans le territoire de leurs traditions les exigences de l’Etat brésilien et celles des organismes internationaux. De telles stratégies qui ne remettent pas en cause la permanence de leurs rituels sont les moyens que se donnent les Tembés pour défendre les intérêts de leur territoire contre les exploitants de la forêt, les grands propriétaires terriens et les agriculteurs de la reforme agraire (agriculture familiale). Cela permet aux Tembés, tant de Guama que de Gurupi, de dynamiser et de réinventer une culture fortement imprégnée d’une dimension politique qui se manifeste dans des actions locales et, en même temps, de défendre leur Indianité et leur territoire.Une analyse comparative entre les deux communautés permet d’observer des différences qui se manifestent en termes d’apprentissage et de transmission des connaissances et qui montrent en particulier que les Tembés de Gurupi adoptent des stratégies et des discours de résistance et de défense plus fermés. Les Tembés de Guama, moins affectés par les iniciatives liées à l’exploitation de la forêt et par l’action des grands propriétaires de la terre, se mobilisent davantage pour défendre un “nouveau” territoire, typiquement émergent, qui conserve cependant des correspondances avec les anciennes limites de leur territoire, en s’efforçant de réactualiser leur mémoire collective qui se nourrit des références de leurs traditions, des traditions que partagent les Tembés de Gurupi. / This study analyzes the relationship between « differentiated health », territory and Indianness , using conceptual frameworks from the sociology of local public action in the Indian Land High River Guama ( TIARG ) , northeastern Pará , territory claimed by its inhabitants , the people Tembe - Tenetehar Villages Guamá and Gurupi . The central process observed relates to appropriation of the discourse of differentiated health Tembé by leaders who spend using it as a political resource in the defense of an action associated with the defense of its territory identity. A hybrid territory is then constructed and experienced in specific symbolic, cosmological references a unique culture that integrates in a local public people whose action points system performance in a comprehensive spheres of competence from the perspective of public service, in this case the health. Between specific social rights and universal social rights, the two villages, seek to expand their resources and develop new strategies for integrating traditional territory requirements which achieves global levels. Such strategies, especially the reissue of traditional rituals are ways that give the Tembé to continue to address other interests in their territory - the loggers, ranchers and settlers. This has allowed Tembe, both Guamá as the Gurupi, streamline, reinvent culture printing an eminently political character of its shares at the same time defend the territory and Indianness. Comparing the two groups of villages are observed differentiations, learning and transmitting knowledge to demonstrate the Tembé Gurupi to set in motion strategies and discourses of resistance and defense of the most closed country. The group Guamá, most affected by the initiatives linked to logging and farms, advocate a new territory, typically emerging that keep in itself however, correspondence with the limits of the territory, updated in collective memory, in which the references are not exactly the same.

"Participation" is a frequently articulated requirement within the context of community development. Yet despite this, the concept of participation is neither comprehensively theorised, nor entirely unproblematic. The theoretical paucity surrounding participation is particularly marked within accounts of its interactional and relational dynamics . This thesis is accordingly concerned with theorising the interactional and relational features of participation in, and for, development. To this end a small development intervention, constituted as an agricultural co-operative within a rural area of South Africa, is examined. In this inquiry the phenomenon of participation is viewed through the lens of dialogical-activity. This enables explication of the "joint activity" directed towards participatory development, within the focal research setting. The overarching theoretical framework for this thesis is conferred by Activity theory. Orientated towards examining the collective and artefactually mediated nature of human action, Activity theory is foregrounded in Y. Engeström's (1989; 1999b) analytic schema of the Activity System. This Activity System framework is expanded by the inclusion of communicative and semiotic elements; an inclusion effected by reference to R. Engeström's theory of communicative action (1995,1999), which in turn, draws on theoretical precepts gleaned from the work of Mikhail Bakhtin. The resultant fusing of dialogue and activity therefore serves to extend Activity theoretical insights. The results of this research are based on data collected from a multitude of sources within the focal participatory development research setting, including internal project documentation, interview transcripts and field notes. The dialogical Bakhtin-derived an alytic categories of speech genre , voice and social language were drawn on in order to examine this textual data , and to explicate the interactional and relational features of participatory development. Analysis of these served to reveal the polyphony of (speech genre constituted) voices, wherein the phenomenon of participation is disparately accentuated. The results chapter moreover discusses the substantial mismatches and discontinuities in the referential object invoked by the various roleplayers, within the focal research context. This thesis considers the sources of these discontinuities and tensions, including how they point to historically constituted contradictions within participatory development. It furthermore briefly examines the opportunities and affordances these offer up for expansive new forms of activity. Finally, in re-examining participation and development, the complex, and sometimes antithetic relationship that exists between these two concepts and their associated social practices, are considered.

The research problem addressed in this study, was to determine what affirmative action policies are being practiced by members of the East Cape Master Builders and Allied Industries Association. To achieve this objective, a literature study was conducted to cite and evaluate relevant literature, in the process of presenting the most theoretical and methodological rationale for the research. The empirical results obtained, indicate that most companies have implemented affirmative action policies. In conclusion, various recommendations have been made with regard to the findings ascertained in the empirical study.

South African public schools in disadvantaged areas are experiencing serious levels of under resourcing which negatively impact the educational experiences of learners. Attempts to lessen such negative impact include involving alumni who know the school‟s context, history and ethos. Unfortunately, the concept of alumni support in terms of mentoring and motivating learners is not the norm in many under resourced schools. This research focuses on fostering partnerships with alumni using participatory action research (PAR), because it is holistic, relationally driven and inclusive. Embedded in complexity theory that views the school community as a nonlinear system of different interacting parts functioning to improve the school context, the research follows actionreflection cycles of a group of ten past pupils and five educators from various backgrounds, levels of education and expertise collaborating with and mobilizing other alumni. Data were generated using drawings, photo voice and interviews. Thematic data analysis was used to build patterns and form categories. The following themes emerged namely, the importance of establishing a collective vision for sustained alumni engagement for alumni‟s personal and professional aspirations to serve the vision of the school, the importance of creating an alumni culture that reinforces the concept of „paying it forward‟. Lastly, establishing a sustainable alumni association through sustained actions and interactions and by creating an organisation of excellence The newly developed alumni structure as a „resource fountain‟ generating and cascading energy around the school emerged as an anchor for sustainability. The cascaded energy evolved into a structured „Alumni Week‟ providing ongoing motivation for current learners to sustain alumni engagement.

This thesis explores action research as a way of doing theology (ART). The contours of ART emerged through a collaborative inquiry into my practice of preaching the Bible within the context of congregational worship. It began with a niggling question, “What was happening in the communication space between me and my congregation?” An action research pilot project (March-April 2006) with Cumnock Congregational Church (Minister, 1998 - 2008) prepared the ground for a collaborative inquiry with Witney Congregational Church (Minister, 2009 - present). With the latter congregation we developed Word Café, an adaption of Brown and Isaacs World Café (2005), as a method of creating communicative space (Wicks & Reason, 2009) in which we explored our experience of what happened when I preached a sermon and examined what, if any changes, occurred during the period of November 2010 to July 2011. This is ideographic research and as such engages in first and second person inquiry, weaving together the voices and insights of participants. In the first person I integrate my spiritual formation and academic development with my vocation as a preacher. In the second person I give an account of the way in which I entered into a collaborative relationship with my congregation to research my preaching practice and their experience of it. I have constructed a narrative of a self-reflexive, critical examination of a single case (Gustavsen, 2003; Reason, 2003) of iterative cycles which encompass the process of co-planning and of the Word Café. My intention is to make a wider contribution to the practice of preaching by modelling ART as a dialogical, relational way of being, and to inspire other preachers and congregations to develop their own ways of reflecting on their practices and experiences of preaching the Bible in their own contexts. Arising out of my inquiry into my preaching practice is the concept of ART which has the potential to create and nurture dialogical space in the exploration and transformation of various aspects of congregational life. This is a contextual, emergent, and interdisciplinary account shaped by narratives of learning. The actions we took in attempting to create communicative space yielded the themes of a fresh hearing of the Bible, listening with my eyes, and exploring my own insider-outsider positionality, in particular through narratives of wisdom and power, silence, and affections. Central to the practice of ART is the growth of the qualities necessary for being authentic as a practitioner-researcher. I set out to demonstrate the way in which the development of attentional practices increased my awareness as I navigated the insider-outsider positionality of a preacher and researcher.

Cette thèse porte sur les processus institutionnels et vernaculaires d'adaptation au changement climatique en zone côtière. L'objet de cette thèse est d'interroger l'idée couramment admise au sein de la communauté internationale selon laquelle les pays du Sud seraient plus vulnérables et moins aptes à faire face aux impacts négatifs du changement climatique que les pays du Nord. A travers une comparaison Nord/Sud entre un pays considéré comme « développé » : le Canada et un pays dit « en développement » : le Sénégal, cette thèse analyse la manière dont les problèmes du climat et de la vulnérabilité climatique sont perçus et gérés au sein des sociétés canadienne et sénégalaise ainsi que les actions mises en œuvre au titre de l'adaptation. Pour se faire, nous avons choisi d'inscrire notre travail dans une approche constructiviste en élaborant un cadre d'analyse qui conjugue à la fois les démarches multi-scalaire, définitionnelle, interactionniste et diachronique. D'un point de vue méthodologique, cette thèse s'appuie sur une démarche qualitative et privilégie l'usage de l'entretien semi-dirigé et du groupe de discussion. Nos résultats démontrent d'une part que la vulnérabilité climatique est un problème public international (Nord/Sud) et que les capacités à s'adapter semblent faibles au Nord comme au Sud. D'autre part, nous observons que le réchauffement climatique et les différents problèmes qu'il engendre viennent questionner plus que jamais les modes de gestion des enjeux environnementaux et les modèles de développement des sociétés d'aujourd’hui aussi bien au Nord qu'au Sud / This thesis addresses the institutional and vernacular processes of adaptation to climate change in coastal areas. The purpose of this study is to challenge the generally accepted idea by the international community that the southern countries would be more vulnerable and able to cope with the negative impacts of the CC than the northern countries. Canada, a northern country considered developed and the Senegal a southern country perceived under development were selected as case studies. This thesis analyses the ways the problems of the climate and climatic vulnerability are perceived and managed by the Canadian and Senegalese societies and critically examines the actions taken at the title of adaptation. We chose to proceed within a constructivist perspective by establishing the framework of the analysis which concurrently combines the approaches multi-scalar, definitional, interactive and diachronic. From a methodological point of view, this thesis is based on a qualitative approach and privileges semi-directed interview and focus group. The results show that the climatic vulnerability is an international problem and the capacities to be adapted are equally weak in both countries. We have also observed that global warming and the problems it produces put under serious questions the methods of managing environmental issues and patterns of development in both sides north and south

M.Comm. / Affirmative action has been greatly debated as a means of righting the injustices of South Africa's past. Its proponents claim it to be an effective way of providing opportunities to those falling under the definition of previously disadvantaged, while cries of "reverse discrimination" echo from those vigorously opposed to it. One of the ways in which empowerment can be achieved is through encouraging government and businesses to make use of affirmative companies in the procurement of day to day goods and services. The first initiative from government came in the form of the Ten Point Plan from the Departments of Public Works and Finance. This was later encapsulated in the Green Paper on Public Sector Reform and the "Resource Specification for the Targeting of Affirmable Business Enterprises". This allowed businesses quoting for government work to score themselves against certain criteria, viz. either by virtue of their being affirmable business enterprises (ABEs), which are two thirds owned by previously disadvantaged individuals (POls), or by entering into joint ventures of various kinds with ABEs. It is believed that the approach of basing a company's contribution to affirmative procurement purely on two-thirds ownership is limiting, and that more aspects need to be investigated to determine the level of empowerment a company is offering its employees. In addition, the high percentage ownership is a temptation for companies to engage in fronting, where token appointments are made and there is no true management or control by the company's PDI management. Subsequently it is vital that alternative approaches be taken. Corporations need to keep track of their spend with PDI owned companies, but need to know how to determine how effective these are in implementing to true economic empowerment.

M.Comm. / The concept of employee empowerment has been associated with the participation of employees in the decision-making process in organisations. A number of approaches and articles have recently been written to expand and better the concept. Employee empowerment is a strategy that gives an ordinary employee an opportunity to have say in, and contribute to both the internal and external affairs of the organisation. In order for the strategy to be successful, the company executive should also take on the responsibility of ensuring that employees and other stakeholders are committed to the process of empowerment. This report investigates the manner in which employee empowerment could be used as a tool or aid to assist organisations in making better use of employees' thinking skills. The investigation looks into the process that should be followed in the implementation of an employee empowerment strategy. Furthermore, the model investigates affirmative action as a tool that could assist managers and organisations to better understand the concept. The report will also highlight the critical success factors that are important in striving to employee empowerment in an organisation. It will also investigate other available tools that can be used in a successful strategy. The issue of black economic empowerment also pops up as a tool that could empower employees in the process. Lastly, the report recommends guidelines that organisations could follow to succeed. The findings of the study have concluded that employee empowerment could be a powerful tool and is essential for employee development. This model tries to integrate the situational leadership model of Ken Blanchard, Carlos and Randolph with Yen-Yun Lin's conceptual model. The model of Blanchard, Carlos & Randolph looks at the stages that management or organisations should go through before and when engaging in an empowerment strategy. The model follows the situational leadership concept or approach. On the other hand the Yen-Yun Lin model looks into the four key dimensions that are critical in an empowerment strategy, namely empowering leadership, empowering culture, empowering management practices and empowering teams. The model tries to integrate the four dimensions and show the role that they play in the employee empowerment model. The tools developed in this model are a combination of a number of possible tools that could be used in the empowerment process, which I developed. The last part of the model attempts to indicate the beneficiaries of the process and the benefits that could be derived from empowerment. It further looks into how these benefits could impact on the organisation as a whole and their relationship to the process and the key dimensions.

M.Comm. / The aim of this study was, to highlight the qualitative nature of the concept of diversity, with specific emphasis, on the work environment. This is a literature study. There is no empirical research accompanying it. This study defines the concept of diversity, and attempt to correct the misleading perception on diversity management and the related concept, namely affirmative action. A diversity management process goes beyond mere numbers and seeks, to maximise the potential of every individual. It means recognising the unique qualities of people in the workplace. The study also identifies possible barriers to a diversity management process, and possible ways, in which they can be overcome. Furthermore, the study discusses and analyse a diversity management process, highlights the need for fundamental change in attitude and behaviour of all stakeholders if the process is to succeed. Data collected indicates a clear need for a well designed organisation programme designed to value and manage a diversity process. Most of the challenges facing organisations, are dynamic, interrelated and systematic in nature, that is, they are intertwined in the entire organisation. More than any other challenge, perhaps, the diveresity process affects the organisation at all levels. The scope and direction of adding value and managing diversity programs, ideally, must be developed within the context, of broad or challanges facing the organisation, as a whole. Diversity responses, in other words, need to be wellintegrated into the organisations overall strategic responses. Systematic thinking is critical to diversity issues.