Broadly speaking, we deal with government activities and their migration-related consequences in this dissertation. There are two parts. The first part examines the influence of social welfare provision on individual demands for immigration. In the second part, we study the impact of tight border control on the incidence of labour exploitation in the migrant smuggling market. In Part 1, we theoretically show that the existence of redistributive welfare programmes reduces the difference between individual demands for immigration by creating a common economic interest among heterogeneous citizens. By analysing a survey data set that contains individual responses to immigration-related questions in the European Union, we also study the importance of the perceived impact of immigration on the national labour market and the domestic public finance for the desirable level of immigration. In Part 2, our theoretical model suggests that the government's battle against migrant smuggling may increase the labour exploitation of migrants on average. Furthermore, the common use of social networks by which the information about reliable smugglers is transmitted to potential migrants suggests that the migrant smuggling market may converge to an exploitative state in the long run if smugglers are impatient.

This research aims to address the impact of globalisation on urban development process in the context of global South, through the case study of the socio-spatial dimensions of retail areas in three provincial Thai towns over the last 50 years. Contemporary issues of urban growth linked to globalisation have been studied in various disciplines but mostly in relation to large cities. They have been less concerned with the local scale and particularly in the transitional/new urban areas of developing countries with loose planning policies and regulations. The methodology and research design uses two different theoretical frameworks, primarily spatial configuration, and secondarily spatial political economy and the relations between them. The analysis focuses on three main types of data: spatial configuration by applying space syntax techniques; secondary data including maps of urban development over a 50-year time period; and fieldwork observations of physical retail area development and retail behaviour of users through systematic recording and analysis of a questionnaire survey. There are four research questions. The first two focus on the physical and spatial transformation of retail areas in two aspects: the centrality of the town centre (Chapter 5) and urban expansion on the fringe of town (Chapter 6). The last two questions address the relationships between the changing physical and spatial configuration and the political economy, through a particular emphasis on the retail area development (Chapter 7) and retail patterns (Chapter 8). According to the primary framework of the research, the analysis reveals that the spatial structure of towns has been dominated by the road networks and that urban land use has changed over time, which has altered the spatial properties leading to development, decline and redevelopment, as well as spatial segregation in varying degrees, in some areas of the towns. From the secondary framework, the political economic contexts of the sites were identified as significant in terms of generating production and (re)production of urban spaces through the planning policies and practices, which has been mainly through a top-down and static approach to development although there is evidence of some tensions between the local and global political economy. The research contributes to the extension of understanding of the globalisation impact on retail urban development in the global South. The analysis of socio-spatial processes of urban development can be emphasised using the multi-disciplinary approach and framework, as shown in the three provincial case study towns in Thailand. The empirical research findings reveal that globalisation in the global South is not static and uniform but dynamic and complex process, for example, the land use conflict between local and multinational retailers at local level. Notably, this research emphasises the importance of local context consideration in terms of informality, traditionalism, localism which influence the characteristics of place, including patterns of socio-spatial relations within urban retail development.

This thesis aims to enrich academic scholarship by investigating cultural narratives of Italians in Wales from 1920s–2010s. It will make use of sources that have been understudied, such as the photographs of Italians in Wales during the interwar period and local newspapers reporting on the incident of the Arandora Star sinking during the Second World War. It also provides an original contribution to debates on migration, memory and identity drawing on recently emerged sources, such as the accounts generated by second and third generations of Italian migrants about the traumatic experience of the Second World War and the published works by Welsh-Italian authors such as Servini, Pelosi, Spinetti, Emanuelli and Arcari. Finally, this thesis also provides an original approach by comparing these ‘narratives of belonging’ with the representation of the Italian migrant experience in Anglo-Welsh literature.

The effects on vegetation of three small mammalian herbivores were determined experimentally in a subalpine meadow in southwestern Colorado. Pikas (Ochotona princeps) inhabit talus and forage on surrounding vegetation. Their foraging was consistent with predictions of central place foraging theory. Amount of foraging decreased with distance from talus, whereas selectivity increased. These patterns are expected to influence the resources used by pikas, and plant abundance and species richness increased with distance from talus, as predicted. Experimental exclusion of pikas demonstrated that a significant portion of the lower vegetational cover and species richness was due to pikas. A model postulating that the effects of pikas on vegetation resulted from a gradient in herbivory, and a corresponding gradient in the relative importance of herbivory and competition among plants, was generally supported. Total vegetational abundance and species richness increased in the absence of pikas. The increase in pika exclosures compared to controls was greatest near talus and decreased with distance. The initial effect of pika exclusion on cushion plants (assumed to be the poorest competitors among the plants in the absence of herbivory) was positive near talus, but was insignificant and tended to be negative at greater distance from talus. The prediction of eventual decline of cushion plant populations in the absence of pikas was supported in two of three sites after three years. The effects on vegetation of two co-occurring herbivores, pocket gophers (Thomomys talpoides) and voles (Microtus montanus), were evaluated using a factorial exclusion experiment. Non-independence of effects was assessed as presence of a significant interaction term in 2-way ANOVA. Gopher x vole interaction terms were at least marginally significant for many analyses. Results only weakly suggested direct foraging interactions between gophers and voles, but showed considerable importance of indirect, plant-plant interactions. Exclusion of either gophers or voles significantly increased vegetational abundance, however, no additional change in abundance resulted when both were excluded simultaneously. Exclusion of either increased forb abundance, and exclusion of gophers increased grass abundance. Only simultaneous exclusion of both, however, altered proportional abundances of plant groups.

Throughout the post-modern or post-professional age (2000-present), high stakes testing and accountability of public schools forced educational organizations to improve their professional practices to work collaboratively (Little, 2003). As a result, professional learning communities (PLCs) have been found to improve student learning among educational organizations (DuFour, 2007; Hord, 2004). During the past 20 years, a significant amount of research has been conducted, which describes PLCs in the educational settings (Vescio, Ross, & Adams, 2008) Researchers note a lack of empirical research which focuses on teacher and principal perceptions of PLCs (Hord & Sommers, 2008). The central focus of this study is to better understand teacher and principal perceptions of the five dimensions of professional learning communities (PLCs) as identified by Hord through reporting data collected using the Professional Learning Community Assessment- Revised (PLCA-R). This study seeks to report teacher and principal perceptions of PLCs to identify specific practices that are most common in Kentucky schools. Findings suggest teacher and principal perceptions differ regarding the five dimensions of PLCs as described by Hord. Findings also suggest that both teachers and principals agree that all five dimensions exist including: Shared and Supportive Leadership, Shared Values and Vision, Collective Learning and Application, Shared Personal Practice, Supportive Conditions – Relationships, and Supportive Conditions- Structures. However, principal perceptions reflect that PLC practices were more common than teachers reported.

This paper gives an account of a study regarding virtual communities, and tries to answer the question of which aspects that contribute towards the growth and success of a community. The purpose of the study has been twofold: to survey and identify factors that are important for the success of a virtual community; and to investigate whether there are differences in the views of success factors between leaders and members in a virtual community. The study is based upon a theoretical framework which gives a definition of the term virtual community, and how experts suggest these congregations are built. In the study is also included an extensive case study of two virtual communities. Finally, a discussion is made regarding the results of the study, and it is concluded that factors such as purpose, policies, trust, feedback and leaders are heavily contributing towards the success of virtual communities.

To investigate the ways in which communities of practice affect individuals' identity development, qualitative research methods were used to understand the impact solo travel had on American women's identity development. A theoretical framework developed from the disciplines of tourism, feminism and adult education was used to inform the study. Using a combined method methods approach (naturalistic inquiry and grounded theory), three components of the backpacker community of practice were identified which gave rise to a model of identity development within a particular community. This study has implications for adult education theory as it clearly suggests the interrelatedness of the social context in which this learning takes place (communities of practice), and adult development theory (identity formation). In practical terms it illustrates and also challenges the notion of identity change as irreversible, suggesting learners need constant support to retain new ways of viewing the world and themselves.

The intent of this thesis is to conduct an empirical study of social capital in a single resource dependent fishing community, Petty Harbour, Newfoundland. The community under study, Petty Harbour, has a 335 year attachment to what was its primary fishery, Northern cod (Gadus morhua). This ended in 1992 when the Canadian government implemented an indefinite moratorium on Northern cod. Historically the community has exhibited high levels of activism aimed for the most part at protectionism of its primary economic mainstay, the fishery. Social capital by definition implies available resources embedded in social structures such as informal networks that can be accessed and mobilized by individuals or groups for either personal or communal gain (Coleman, 1988; Putnam, 2000; Krishna, 2002; Onyx, 2005). High levels of social capital can lead to collective activism, which according to some, is the single most important contributing factor to sustainability because without activism, an outcome of social capital, there maybe no hope for recovery and sustainability. My hypothesis is that the extent to which one is socially connected through network ties to close friends and/or family (structural social capital) and the level of trust in neighbors (cognitive social capital) will positively correlate with their involvement with activism. Leadership and sense of ownership are introduced as additional independent variables to further explore explanations for the community's level of collective activism and stewardship of the resource. Treating activism as a dependent variable, I am going to examine social capital indicators, suggesting network ties (weak, strong) as independent variables that can partially explain the historically high level of activism. I am also going to propose that the independent variables leadership and sense of ownership will also positively correlate with activism.

Mycorrhizae improve plant growth and ecosystem sustainability by forming a symbiotic association with higher plants including the economically important willows (Salix spp.). With the recognition of the importance of mycorrhizae in terrestrial ecosystems, inoculation of plants with mycorrhizae is becoming a common practice in agricultural and land reclamation industries. However, little information is available on important ecological parameters such as soil aggregation, soil organic carbon content (SOC) and mycorrhizal communities associated with willow rhizospheres in response to mycorrhizal inoculation in willow systems. The main objectives of this research were to explore how commercial mycorrhizal inoculation of willows impacts (1) percent water-stable soil aggregates (%WSA); (2) indigenous arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) community composition associated with different size soil aggregates; (3) SOC, and (4) willow growth. These objectives were examined under both greenhouse and field conditions. Using molecular approaches, we observed the existence of spatial variability in indigenous AMF communities among different soil aggregate size classes. This spatial variability varied with type of soil and could be reduced by inoculating with a commercial AMF inoculant. The indigenous EMF diversity was low and did not show spatial heterogeneity among soil aggregates, but it did vary with soil type. In addition, other parameters, including %WSA, SOC within the willow rhizosphere, and willow plant growth also varied by soil type and changed in association with commercial mycorrhizal inoculation. In the field experiment, soil extracts from willow nursery soil had comparable plant growth promotion with commercial mycorrhizal inoculation, and altered the AMF community associated with bulk soil and soil aggregates in the willow rhizosphere. These results suggest that historically superior willow growth in the willow nursery soil could be due to pre-existing soil microbiological factors. Overall this research indicates that AMF and EMF inoculation has the potential to influence the composition of the AMF community, but had little influence on the composition of the EMF community in the systems tested. / Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

<p>Traditional leaders were occupying communal political positions sanctified by cultural mores and values who enjoy the legitimacy of particular communities to direct their affairs. Their basis of legitimacy is tradition, which includes the whole range of inherited culture and way of life, a people's history, moral and social values and the traditional institutions which survive to serve those values. As stated by Bennett, the structure of tribes contained no more than a few thousand indivuduals. Members were assumed to be related by a tie of kinship and due to their ancestry, they were a homogenious group. They were three rungs in the hierarchy of traditional leadership, the Kumkani (King), the Nkosi (or Chief, a term the traditional leaders do not like because it is of colonial imposition), and the lowest rung called the Headman or junior traditional leader. Traditional rulers required no special training as they were qualified for office by their ansestry alone / a king is a king because he is born to it. Furthermore, the all inclusive powers of government were not differentiated, in the Western manner, into judicial, administrative and legislative categories. In South Africa the office was hereditary according to the principle of primogeniture in the male line. There was a duty to consult councillors and to act for the benefit of the people. Even though many of the issues of traditional leadership were similar across the country, it must be accepted that traditional leadershipis the expression of different nations. Each African nation had a dirresent system of customary law and different models of traditional societal organisation in which traditional leadership plays diferent roles. If the grip of traditional leaders on the masses of the people were not broken, it would not be easy for colonial powers to get a listening ear from the people and therefore to govern as they saw fit...</p>