Included in the challenges possibly faced by those with dyslexia, is the acquisition of literacy skills. Despite 21st century advancements made in technology, literacy skills remain central to education and day-to-day living. Therefore, it is essential to meet the learning needs of those with dyslexia, as failure herein could impact negatively on their lived experiences and on the attainment of their needs. The main aim of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore, and describe the first-hand lifelong experiences of adults living with dyslexia. The study utilised the theoretical and conceptual frameworks of Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Following a multistage procedure, a criterion-based sampling strategy was used to select study participants, comprising of eight South African adults between the ages of 18 and 40, who were formally diagnosed with dyslexia. Data collection included semi-structured one-on-one in-depth interviews and the researcher’s reflective journal. Data analysis, following the principles of phenomenology, resulted in the formation of five themes. Findings reveal that dyslexia is viewed positively by adults diagnosed with it, and used as a driving force to succeed and obtain set goals. Various professionals were consulted with the aim of obtaining a diagnosis; however, obtaining a diagnosis and hence an explanation for their learning challenges, was a stressful experience for both the participants and their parents. Families provide much assistance with school work, although all participants revealed negative schooling experiences caused by schools not acknowledging dyslexia and not meeting their specific learning needs. Although living with dyslexia presents challenges, coping mechanisms are in place for overcoming anticipated challenges. Whilst self-confidence is not negatively affected, dyslexia appears to negatively affect the self-esteem of some. This study found that the dyslexia label is preferred to that of having additional learning needs, as the dyslexia label is viewed as referring to specific challenges and not to entire learning abilities. Finally, this study hopes to provide a deeper understanding of the experiences of those living with dyslexia and fill the existing gap in South African literature. / Psychology / Ph. D. (Psychology)

In this study, the use of hypnotherapy in high-risk pregnancy is explored from an ecological systems perspective through two case studies. Each case study is described in detail. They explore the experiences of two women during their pregnancy and giving birth, with specific reference to the pregnancy risks and their use of hypnotherapy. The study provides the reader with an in-depth understanding of the use of hypnotherapy before, during and after birth. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2015 / ENGLISH ABSTRACT : In 2010, young people aged 15–24 years accounted for 42% of new HIV infections globally. In 2009, about five million (10%) of the total South African population was estimated to be aged 15–19 years. Current South African national sero-prevalence data estimate the prevalence of HIV to be 5.6% and 0.7% among adolescent girls and boys aged 15–19 years, respectively. HIV infections are mainly transmitted via sexual transmission. Adolescent sexuality is multi-faceted and influenced at multiple levels. In preparing to enroll adolescents in future biomedical HIV prevention trials, particularly prophylactic HIV vaccine trials, it is critical to provide counseling services appropriate to their needs. At the time of writing, there was no developed psychosocial intervention in South Africa for use among adolescent vaccine trial participants. Thus, the aim of the present study is to adapt and pilot-test a psychosocial intervention, namely, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) risk reduction counseling intervention of Project Respect, an intervention tasked at being developmentally and contextually appropriate among potential adolescent participants in HIV biomedical trials in the future. To achieve this overall aim, I qualitatively explored adolescent sexuality and risk factors for HIV among a diverse sample of participants aged 16–18 from Soweto. Thereafter, I developed a composite HIV risk scale in order to measure the variance in HIV risk among the sample of adolescents studied. The study followed a two-phased, mixed method research design and was informed by ecological systems theory and integrative model of behavioral prediction. The aim of Phase 1, split into phases 1a and b, was to conduct focus group discussions (FGDs) and to undertake a cross-sectional survey, respectively, to determine psychological (for example, self-esteem and depression), behavioral (specifically, sexual behavior) and social (specifically, social support, parent-adolescent communication) contexts that placed adolescents at risk for HIV infection. Phase 1a was qualitative, with data collected via nine FGDs: three involved parents of adolescents, four involved adolescents aged 16–18 years and two counselors. Nine key themes related to adolescent sexuality and risks for HIV acquisition were identified, namely: (1) dating during adolescence; (2) adolescent girls dating older men; (3) condom use amongst adolescents; (4) teenage pregnancies; (5) views about homosexuality; (6) parent-adolescent communication about sexual health; (7) the role of the media; (8) discipline and perceived government influence; and (9) group sex events. Phase 1b was quantitative and the data were collected via a cross-sectional survey to investigate the variance of risk for HIV. For Phase 1b, the sample consisted of 506 adolescents with a mean age of 17 years (interquartile range [IQR]: 16–18). More than half the participants were female (59%, n = 298). I used a three-step hierarchical multiple regression model to investigate the variance in risk for HIV. In step 3, the only significant predictors were “ever threatened to have sex” and “ever forced to have sex”, the combination of which explained 14% (R2 = 0.14; F (12, 236) = 3.14, p = 0.00). Depression and parentadolescent communication were added to steps 2 and 3, respectively, with both variables insignificant in these models. In Phase 2, I adapted and pilot tested the CDC risk reduction counseling intervention. The intervention was intended to be developmentally and contextually appropriate among adolescents from Soweto aged 16–18 years, viewed as potential participants in future HIV biomedical trials. Participants in Phase 2 were aged 16–18 years; the sample was mainly female (52%, n = 11) and most (91%, n = 19) were secondary school learners in grades 8 to 12. Participants provided feedback about their experiences of the adapted counseling intervention through in-depth interviews. I identified three main themes in this regard, namely: benefits of HIV testing services, reasons for seeking counseling and HIV testing services, and participants’ evaluation of the study visits and counseling sessions. The adapted CDC risk reduction counseling intervention was found to be acceptable with favorable outcomes for those adolescents who participated in the piloting phase. This study adds to the literature on risks for HIV among adolescents in Soweto, South Africa, by considering multiple levels of influence. Reaching a more complete understanding of ecological factors contributing to sexual risk behaviors among adolescents in the pilot-study enabled the development of a tailored counseling intervention. The findings showed the adapted CDC risk reduction counseling intervention to be feasible and acceptable among adolescents likely to be participants and eligible to participate in future HIV biomedical prevention trials. Thus, this study provides a much needed risk reduction counseling intervention that can be used among adolescents, an age group likely to participate in future HIV vaccine prevention research. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : In 2010 het jongmense tussen die ouderdomme van 15 en 24 jaar 42% van nuwe MIV-infeksies wêreldwyd uitgemaak. In 2009 was omtrent 5 miljoen mense (10%) van die Suid-Afrikaanse bevolking tussen 15 en 19 jaar oud. Volgens data oor die huidige Suid-Afrikaanse nasionale sero-voorkoms, word die voorkoms van MIV onderskeidelik op 5.6% en 0.7% onder tienermeisies en -seuns tussen die ouderdomme van 15 tot 19 jaar beraam. MIV-infeksies word hoofsaaklik deur seks oorgedra. Adolessente seksualiteit het baie fasette en word op verskeie vlakke beïnvloed. Ter voorbereiding van die werwing van adolessente vir toekomstige biomediese proewe, veral proewe oor profilaktiese MIVentstowwe, is dit van kritiese belang dat beradingsdienste verskaf word wat geskik is vir hul behoeftes. Op die tydstip wat hierdie tesis geskryf is, het daar nog geen psigososiale intervensie in Suid-Afrika bestaan vir gebruik onder adolessente deelnemers aan entstofproewe nie. Daarom is die doel van hierdie studie om ʼn psigososiale intervensie ‒ die Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) se Projek Respek, ʼn beradingsintervensie vir die vermindering van risiko ‒ aan te pas en met ʼn loodsprojek te toets. Hierdie intervensie is geskik vir die ontwikkelings- en kontekstuele vlak van adolessente deelnemers aan toekomstige MIV- biomediese proewe. Ten einde hierdie oorkoepelende doelwit te bereik, het ek adolessente seksualiteit en die risikofaktore vir MIV onder ʼn diverse steekproef deelnemers tussen die ouderdomme van 16 en 18 jaar van Soweto kwalitatief ondersoek. Daarna het ek ʼn saamgestelde MIV-risikoskaal ontwikkel om die variansie van MIV-risiko onder die groep adolessente te meet. Die studie se navorsingsontwerp het uit twee fases en gemengde metodes bestaan, en is gebaseer op ekologiesestelsel-teorie en die integrerende gedragsvoorspellingsmodel. Die doel van fase 1, wat in fases 1a en 1b verdeel is, was om onderskeidelik fokusgroepbesprekings te hou en om ʼn deursnitopname te doen om die sielkundige kontekste (byvoorbeeld elemente van selfbeeld en depressie), gedragskontekste (spesifiek seksuele gedrag) en sosiale kontekste (spesifiek sosiale ondersteuning en ouer-adolessent-kommunikasie) te bepaal waarin adolessente die risiko loop om MIV-infeksie op te doen. Fase 1a was kwalitatief en data is deur middel van nege fokusgroepbesprekings ingesamel: drie met die ouers van adolessente, vier met adolessente tussen 16 en 18 jaar oud en twee met beraders. Nege sleuteltemas is geïdentifiseer wat verband hou met adolessente seksualiteit en risiko’s om MIV op te doen: (1) verhoudings tydens adolessensie, (2) tienermeisies wat verhoudings met ouer mans het, (3) die gebruik van kondome onder adolessente, (4) tienerswangerskappe, (5) sienings oor homoseksualiteit, (6) ouer-adolessent-kommunikasie oor seksuele gesondheid, (7) die rol van die media, (8) dissipline en die ervaarde regeringsinvloed en (9) groepseksgeleenthede. Fase 1b was kwantitatief en data is deur middel van ’n deursnitopname ingesamel om die variansie van risiko vir MIV te ondersoek. Vir Fase 1b het die steekproef bestaan uit 506 adolessente met ’n gemiddelde ouderdom van 17 jaar (interkwartielwydte [IKW]: 16–18). Meer as die helfte van die deelnemers was vroulik (59%, n = 298). Ek het ’n hiërargiese meervoudige regressiemodel met drie stappe gebruik om die variansie van risiko vir MIV te ondersoek. Die enigste beduidende voorspellers in stap 3 was “ooit gedreig om seks te hê” en “ooit geforseer om seks te hê”. Die kombinasie hiervan het 14% (R2 = 0.14; F (12, 236) = 3.14, p = 0.00) verklaar. Depressie en oueradolessent- kommunikasie is onderskeidelik in stappe 2 en 3 bygevoeg, en albei veranderlikes was onbeduidend in hierdie modelle. In Fase 2 het ek die CDC se intervensie vir die verlaging van risiko aangepas en met ’n loodsprojek getoets. Die intervensie was bedoel om geskik te wees vir die ontwikkelings- en kontekstuele vlakke van 16- tot 18-jarige adolessente van Soweto wat beskou is as potensiële deelnemers aan toekomstige MIV- biomediese proewe. Deelnemers in Fase 2 was 16 tot 18 jaar oud, die steekproef was hoofsaaklik vroulik (52%, n = 11) en die meeste van die deelnemers (91%, n = 19) was in grade 8 tot 12 op hoërskool. Deelnemers het tydens indringende onderhoude terugvoering oor hulle ervarings van die aangepaste beradingsintervensie verskaf. Ek het drie hooftemas in hierdie verband geïdentifiseer, wat die volgende insluit: voordele van MIV-toetsingsdienste, redes waarom berading en MIV-toetsingsdienste verlang word, en die deelnemers se evaluering van die studiebesoeke en beradingsessies. Daar is bevind dat die aangepaste beradingsintervensie van die CDC aanvaarbaar was en gunstige uitkomste gelewer het vir die adolessente wat aan die loodsfase deelgeneem het. Hierdie studie dra by tot die literatuur oor MIV-risiko’s vir adolessente in Soweto, Suid-Afrika, deur meervoudige invloedsvlakke te oorweeg. Die feit dat ’n meer volledige begrip tydens die loodsondersoek verkry is van die interaksie van die ekologiese faktore wat tot seksuele risikogedrag onder adolessente bydra, het die ontwikkeling van ʼn doelgemaakte intervensie deur berading moontlik gemaak. Die bevindings het getoon dat die aangepaste beradingsintervensie van die CDC lewensvatbaar en aanvaarbaar is vir gebruik onder adolessente wat waarskynlik geskikte deelnemers aan toekomstige biomediese proewe oor MIV-voorkoming kan wees. Hierdie studie verskaf dus ʼn noodsaaklike beradingsintervensie om die MIV-risiko onder adolessente ‒ ʼn ouderdomsgroep wat waarskynlik aan toekomstige biomediese navorsing oor MIV-voorkoming sal deelneem ‒ te verminder.

<p>The thesis analyses relationships between ecological and social systems in the context of coastal ecosystems. It examines human impacts from resource extraction and addresses management and governance behind resource exploitation. The main premises are that a lack of ecological knowledge leads to poor ecosystem management and that the dichotomy between social and natural systems is an artificial one. The thesis illustrates the importance of basing resource management on the ecological conditions of the resource and its ecosystem. It also demonstrates the necessity of accounting for the human dimension in ecosystem management and the challenges of organising human actions for sustainable use of ecosystem services in the face of economic incentives that push users towards short-term extraction.</p><p>Many Caribbean coral reefs have undergone a shift from coral to macroalgal domination. An experiment on Glovers Reef Atoll in Belize manually cleared patch reefs in a no-take zone and a fished zone (Papers I and II). The study hypothesised that overfishing has reduced herbivorous fish populations that control macroalgae growth. Overall, management had no significant effect on fish abundance and the impacts of the algal reduction were short-lived. This illustrated that the benefits of setting aside marine reserves in impacted environments should not be taken for granted. </p><p>Papers III and IV studied the development of the lobster and conch fisheries in Belize, and the shrimp farming industry in Thailand respectively. These studies found that environmental feedback can be masked to give the impression of resource abundance through sequential exploitation. In both cases inadequate property rights contributed to this unsustainable resource use. </p><p>The final paper (V) compared the responses to changes in the resource by the lobster fisheries in Belize and Maine in terms of institutions, organisations and their role in management. In contrast to Maine’s, the Belize system seems to lack social mechanisms for responding effectively to environmental feedback. The results illustrate the importance of organisational and institutional diversity that incorporate ecological knowledge, respond to ecosystem feedback and provide a social context for learning from and adapting to change.</p>

The concept of biodiversity – the phenotypic and genotypic variation among organisms – is central to conservation biology. There is growing recognition that biodiversity does not exist in isolation, but rather is intrinsically and evolutionarily linked to cultural diversity and indigenous knowledge systems. In Canada, caribou (Rangifer tarandus) occupy a central place in the livelihoods and identities of indigenous people and display substantial variation across their distribution. However, quantifying caribou intraspecific variation has proven challenging. Interdisciplinary approaches are necessary to produce effective species characterizations and conservation strategies that acknowledge the interdependent relationships between people and nature in complex social-ecological systems. In this dissertation I use multiple disciplinary traditions to develop comprehensive and united representations of caribou variation through an exploration of population genetics, phylogenetics, traditional knowledge, language, and visual approaches in the Sahtú region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. First, I examine caribou variation through analysis of population genetics and the relationships Dene and Métis people establish with animals within bioculturally diverse systems. Next, I focus on how the Pleistocene glacial-interglacial cycles have shaped the current patterns of caribou phylogeographic lineage diversification. Finally, I explore how art can be used to facilitate cross-cultural collaboration and externalize the unique heterogeneity of biocultural diversity. The results demonstrate a broad scale understanding of the distribution, spatial organization, and the degree of differentiation of caribou populations in the region. I found evidence for caribou population differentiation that corresponds to the caribou types recognized by Dene people: tǫdzı “boreal woodland caribou,” ɂekwę́ “barren-ground caribou,” and shúhta ɂepę́ “mountain caribou.” Phylogenetic results reveal that in their northern margin the boreal ecotype of woodland caribou evolved independently from the northern Beringian lineage in contrast with southern boreal caribou which belong to the sub-Laurentide refugia lineage. In addition, I demonstrate how art can be used improve communication, participation, and knowledge production among interdisciplinary research collaborations and across language and knowledge systems. A collaborative process of research that facilitates łeghágots'enetę “learning together” has the potential to produce sustainable conservation solutions, develop efficient and effective wildlife management policies, and ensure caribou remain an important part of the landscape. / February 2017

Achieving food security under climate change is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century. The challenge becomes even greater when contextualised within our current limited understanding of how the food system functions as a complex, adaptive socio-ecological system, with food security as one of its outcomes. Adding climate change into this already complex and uncertain mix creates a ‘wicked problem’ that must be solved through the development of adaptive food governance. The thesis has 4 key aims: <ul><li>1. To move beyond an understanding of food security that is dependent solely on agricultural production, and therefore the reliance of future food security predictions on production data based on climate model inputs.</li><li>2. To ground the theoretical aspects of complex adaptive systems with empirical data from multi-level case studies.</li><li>3. To investigate the potential role of the private sector in food system futures.</li><li>4. To analyse food system dynamics across scales and levels.</li></ul> In order to realise these aims, a complex adaptive system (CAS) approach within the GECAFS food system framework is employed to multilevel case studies in South Africa and Brazil. Particular emphasis is placed on the role of the private sector and how these vital actors, comprising a powerful component of the global food system, can be mobilized towards building adaptive capacity for a more resilient food system. Critically, the private sector is often left out of academic discussions on adaptation, which tend to focus more on civil society and governmental capacity to adapt. This thesis provides novel insight into how the power of the private sector can be harnessed to build adaptive capacity. The findings of the thesis showed that applying CAS to issues of governance has three important implications: The first is that in a complex system, it is critical to maintain diversity. This can translate into appreciating a multiplicity of viewpoints in order to reflect a range of decision-making options. This finding makes the case for closer synergy between the public and private sectors around areas like product development and distribution that includes an emphasis on enhancing food security under climate change. In the developing country context, the inclusion of smallholders and local entrepreneurs is also vital for building adaptive capacity. In this sense, it is possible for business to help achieve development goals by developing the capacity of those most vulnerable to socio-economic and environmental shocks. Secondly, adapting to climate change and other environmental and economic pressures will require a shift in mind-set that embraces the uncertainty of the future: ‘managing for uncertainty rather than against it’. This entails a shift in governance mindset away from linear thinking to a decision-making paradigm that is more flexible to deal with unexpected shocks. The third implication for governance is the need to understand the complex interplay of multiple interlinking processes and drivers that function across many levels and sometimes have exponential positive feedbacks in the food system. Adaptive governance is an iterative process, but as more is learnt and information is retained in the system, the ideal is that the beneficial processes that lower inequality and increase food security will start to be reinforced over those that entrench the current inequality in the food system.

In this study, the use of hypnotherapy in high-risk pregnancy is explored from an ecological systems perspective through two case studies. Each case study is described in detail. They explore the experiences of two women during their pregnancy and giving birth, with specific reference to the pregnancy risks and their use of hypnotherapy. The study provides the reader with an in-depth understanding of the use of hypnotherapy before, during and after birth. / Psychology / M. A. (Psychology)

This study explored teachers' perceptions of intelligence of 11th-grade Black male students and how students themselves perceived their own intelligence in light of Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligence. Qualitative research methods were used to gain novel understanding of the students' and teachers' feelings, and perceptions as outlined in the research questions. Two versions of ecological systems theory provided the underpinnings for the framework of this study: 1) Brönfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Theory, and 2) Spencer's PVEST (Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory) model, which is an adaptation of the ecology model to Black students in the United States. In a large urban school district in the Southeast section of the United States, twenty-six students completed an online survey of Gardner's Multiple Intelligences. Seven Black male students were selected and interviewed along with ten of their teachers. The study found that despite the negative stereotypes toward Black males by society, the Black male students in this study interpreted intelligence to be multifaceted and perceived themselves as intelligent Black males. The teachers of the Black male students perceived them as intelligent and also interpreted intelligence to be multifaceted. The Black male students were resilient in debunking the idea that Black males were not considered intelligent in a society where negative Black male stereotypes abound.

The thesis analyses relationships between ecological and social systems in the context of coastal ecosystems. It examines human impacts from resource extraction and addresses management and governance behind resource exploitation. The main premises are that a lack of ecological knowledge leads to poor ecosystem management and that the dichotomy between social and natural systems is an artificial one. The thesis illustrates the importance of basing resource management on the ecological conditions of the resource and its ecosystem. It also demonstrates the necessity of accounting for the human dimension in ecosystem management and the challenges of organising human actions for sustainable use of ecosystem services in the face of economic incentives that push users towards short-term extraction. Many Caribbean coral reefs have undergone a shift from coral to macroalgal domination. An experiment on Glovers Reef Atoll in Belize manually cleared patch reefs in a no-take zone and a fished zone (Papers I and II). The study hypothesised that overfishing has reduced herbivorous fish populations that control macroalgae growth. Overall, management had no significant effect on fish abundance and the impacts of the algal reduction were short-lived. This illustrated that the benefits of setting aside marine reserves in impacted environments should not be taken for granted. Papers III and IV studied the development of the lobster and conch fisheries in Belize, and the shrimp farming industry in Thailand respectively. These studies found that environmental feedback can be masked to give the impression of resource abundance through sequential exploitation. In both cases inadequate property rights contributed to this unsustainable resource use. The final paper (V) compared the responses to changes in the resource by the lobster fisheries in Belize and Maine in terms of institutions, organisations and their role in management. In contrast to Maine’s, the Belize system seems to lack social mechanisms for responding effectively to environmental feedback. The results illustrate the importance of organisational and institutional diversity that incorporate ecological knowledge, respond to ecosystem feedback and provide a social context for learning from and adapting to change.

The purpose of this study was to predict the family resources that influence positive family-to-work spillover for women who are engaged in parent, partner, and paid employee roles. While much research examines the construct of work-family conflict, little examines the positive benefits for women participating in multiple roles. A conceptual framework for the study was obtained from Voydanoffs (2002) work applying ecological systems theory to the work-family interface. Several factors were hypothesized to predict positive family-to-work spillover for multiple role women, including: spousal support; perceived fairness in the division of housework and childcare; relative share of childcare and housework; and paid assistance with housework.<p>Data for this study was collected in a survey designed for a larger assessment of work, family, gender, and health in the Saskatoon area. The current study utilized data collected from women who met the following criteria: 1) spoke fluent English; 2) fell between the ages of 25 - 54 years; 3) were employed full-time or part-time; and 4) were the parent of at least one child under the age of 20 years. The dependent variable was a measure of positive family-to-work spillover. Independent variables included: spousal support; perceived fairness of the division of childcare; perceived fairness of the division of housework; relative of share of housework for respondents compared to ones partner; and paid assistance with housework. Control variables included income, presence of preschool children, number of children, educational attainment, and hours of paid employment. A sequential multiple regression was performed to predict positive family-to-work spillover from the independent variables. The final regression model predicting positive family-to-work spillover included three independent variables: 1) spousal support; 2) the perception of division of childcare as unfair to ones partner; and 3) relative share of housework for the respondent. Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed.