The Sport Commitment model (SCM) is a well-known theoretical framework to illustrate how the psychological state of commitment to sport has been influenced and studied in able-bodied persons. Considering the characteristics and lived experiences of people with disabilities, additional antecedents of sport commitment were added in the structure of the SCM. In order to extend the application of this revised SCM to persons with disabilities, the concept of three levels (personal, social, and environmental) of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model was employed to differentiate the impacts of nine antecedents to sport commitment. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the revised SCM in terms of the magnitude of contribution of nine antecedents (enjoyment, personal investment, involvement opportunities, social constraints, involvement alternatives, self-efficacy, negative consequence of sport participation, social support, and accessibility of sport facilities and settings) on sport commitment to athletes with disabilities. The second purpose of this study was to investigate the superiority between original and alternative sport commitment models (mediation and direct/indirect model). A total of 157 adult athletes (Mean age= 34.87, SD = 11.78) with physical disabilities from team and individual sports across the United States, Europe, and Asia completed an online survey of 60 items across the nine antecedents hypothesized to influence sport commitment in athlete with disabilities. Results indicated involvement opportunities, followed by personal investment, were the strongest predictors of sport commitment (R2 = 65). In contrast, enjoyment, social constraints, involvement alternatives, self-efficacy, negative consequence of sport participation, social support, and accessibility of sport facilities and settings had no significant prediction on sport commitment. Chi-square difference test showed the direct/indirect model (χ2 (211) = 318.41; RMSEA = .05; CFI = .97; SRMR = .06) had better goodness-of-fit indices than the mediation model (χ2 (215) = 390.55; RMSEA = .06; CFI = .95; SRMR = .11). Based on the principle of parsimony, the original model (χ2 (215) = 384.95; RMSEA = .07; CFI = .95; SRMR = .06) was deemed a better model to understand the mechanism of sport commitment than the direct/indirect model. The SCM was an effective theoretical framework for adult athletes with disabilities. However, it still requires more studies to understand its effectiveness to other developmental ages and stages of athletes with disabilities.

At the heart of liberal political theory is a formula for enabling diverse groups to coexist peacefully in spite of their differences. This formula involves seeking broad consensus on certain key political institutions as well as on moral norms against imposing views on others. In recent centuries, this formula has been highly successful. However, it is now under attack from green theorists who claim liberal societies will systematically fail to protect the environment, precipitating a global ecological crisis. The radical societal transformations advocated by these greens diverge from traditional liberal arrangements and seek to entrench green ideas in the foundations of the political order. In this dissertation, I examine how liberals can rebut such proposals without simply dismissing greens and their beliefs. I argue that the most promising route to a satisfactory liberal response is pragmatic in nature, showing that greens have little to gain from radicalism and more to gain from a continued commitment to liberalism. I develop this argument in two complementary ways, demonstrating first that greens have overestimated the likely benefits of their transformational proposals and second that a conciliatory approach in the spirit of liberalism offers great promise for achieving green goals. Ultimately, I contend that even for those who see a crisis on the horizon and worry that liberal societies will not respond appropriately, liberalism remains the best available approach to political life.

Magister Artium (Sport, Recreation and Exercise Science) - MA(SRES) / Gymnastics is a sport code that develops basic motor skills, hand-eye coordination and provides participants with an opportunity to socialize and learn new skills. There are various social factors, such as a family’s socioeconomic status or accessibility to sports facilities that may play a role in affecting levels of participation. The aim of this study is to investigate the social factors that have an influence on gymnastics participation in the Western Cape. To this end, a qualitative approach is adopted to collect data. This study also adopts the ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1995) as the theoretical framework, and is used to analyse and interpret current social factors that directly or indirectly influence participation in gymnastics. The study’s objectives were to ascertain which social factors hinder participation, and which social factors promote participation, thus, coaches, parents and gymnasts participated in focus group discussions. Key informant interviews took place with experts in the field of gymnastics in the Western Cape. A thematic analysis was conducted on transcriptions from the focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Social factors investigated in this study occurred in the chronosystem, macrosystem, exosystem, mesosystem, and microsystem, and had both a direct and indirect influence on the gymnast’s continued participation. These systems are defined by Bronfenbrenner (1995), as the environment of the individual, in which they grow and develop. The research findings of this thesis are used to draw conclusions and make specific recommendations for practice and further research. The information gathered in this study can assist all stakeholders within the field of gymnastics, such as parents, judges, coaches, gymnasts, and the supporting community which surround the participating gymnast.

Coastline communities have experienced a marked increase in human populations over the last few decades. This increase in population places disproportionate pressure on coastal ecosystems to provide economic services to support local economies. At the same time, overuse of these services can aid in the destruction of the ecosystems responsible for them. Seagrass ecosystems are mainly found near coastlines, and are typically a chief provider of some of these economic goods and services. Many previous studies have documented the ecological functions of this seagrasses. Unfortunately, our increasing knowledge of seagrass structure and function has not been fully incorporated into economic models estimating their value. In this dissertation, I focus on the seagrass ecosystem in southern Biscayne Bay, and simultaneously study the ecological dynamics of the seagrass beds, and estimate its economic value. This value is based on recent ecological models in the literature as well as data I collected from the system. I focused on Biscayne Bay due to, 1) the relevance that this question had to the relationship between Biscayne Bay and the Miami metropolis, and 2) the lack of existing reliable models that explore this relationship in this area. More specifically, I became very interested in this question while working for Biscayne National Park, where such a model would have improved seagrass restoration work taking place there. I found that southern Biscayne Bay is dominated by Thalassia testudinum, with other seagrasses following a spatial pattern primarily determined by salinity and water column nutrient distribution. Syringodium filiforme was mostly found east of the islands, Halodule wrightii was mostly found near the shoreline, and Halophila engelmenii was spotted at only two of the 190 sites visited. T. testudinum distribution was largely unaffected by nutrient enrichment at all sites, but it appeared to induce severe herbivory further from the coastline. For the calendar year 2004, we deduced using a Total Ecosystems Valuation (TEV) model that seagrass ecosystems potentially contributed over $198 million US dollars to the local economy. We argue that a simultaneous understanding and use of both ecological and economic models is important for future conservation efforts of seagrass ecosystems.

Pharmaceuticals are environmental pollutants that are a major threat to aquatic ecosystems and very little is known about their ecological consequences. In this study growth, survival and behaviour (sociability, activity and boldness) of perch fry (Perca fluviatilis) were examined in order to study the possible effects of exposure to a benzodiazepine anxiolytic drug, Oxazepam, during embryonic development. The study tested following hypotheses: (1) perch growth is affected positively by exposure during embryonic development; (2) early perch survival is affected positively by exposure during embryonic development; and (3) boldness and activity increases while sociability decreases in perch fry exposed during embryonic development. Embryos of naturally spawned perch were exposed to water with two different concentrations of Oxazepam. The embryos were exposed during different parts (24-hour periods) of the embryonic development, because embryos may be more vulnerable at certain times during embryonic development and/or because the exposure at different times can produce different effects. Embryos were also chronically exposed, which is essential for aquatic systems because the influx of pharmaceuticals is more or less continuous. In line with hypothesis 1 treatment with Oxazepam affected growth positively. Similarly, survival increased with Oxazepam exposure as predicted by hypothesis 2. Perch fry exposed to the high concentration and fry exposed late during embryonic development survived better. In addition, as hypothesized in hypothesis 3, perch fry exposed to both concentrations exhibited increased activity and reduced sociability although boldness did not increase. Further studies are required to demonstrate the ecological consequences of Oxazepam in aquatic systems.

While investigating the biology of the economically important members of the genus Lutianus on the East African coastline, difficulty was experienced with the identification and the nomenclature of the group using existing literature. It was essential that adequate descriptions of the species of the genus should be available before their biology could be investigated. Routine work of the East African Marine Fisheries Research Organization has produced over 1,000 specimens for study. The Organization's vessel, the M.V. "Research", has collected by handlines, multiple trolling lines, gill nets, deep lines and basket traps over the six hundred mile coastline of Kenya, Tanganyika and Zanzibar Protectorate, i.e. from Lat. l o 30" S. to 10° 30" S. This material forms the basis of the present paper. Underwater observations with and without a Seibe-Gorman aqualung down to seven fathoms have been made on a number of coral reefs. In this way some knowledge of the habits of certain species of the genus has been acquired, and some species rarely taken by normal fishing methods were discovered to be common. Specimens of these have been collected by spear guns. Where notes of habits of a species have been made they have been appended under the heading "Ecological note". Of the thirteen species of the genus found in the area, all (except the very small L. ehrenbergi) pass through the local markets and are considered good eating, and seven are important food fishes. Economically the genus ranks as one of the three most important groups of bottom Telcosts; the others being the Epinephelids and the genus Lethrinus.

Coastal cities have impacted negatively on freshwater and marine ecosystems - primarily through habitat loss, fragmentation and pollution. Globally, it has been found that otter's dependence on these ecosystems exposes them to a myriad of threats, including loss of habitat, human-wildlife conflict and the bioaccumulation of toxic pollutants. The Cape clawless otter, Aonyx capensis, is the most widely distributed otter species in southern Africa and persists in human-modified habitats, including large cities. The Cape Peninsula provides a unique opportunity to study the impacts of urbanisation on otters as it presents a gradient from densely populated urban areas in the north (City of Cape Town) to sparsely populated areas interspersed with large expanses of natural habitat (Table Mountain National Park) in the south. In this thesis, I investigate the distribution, diet and threats to otters living on the Cape Peninsula. I use sign-based occupancy surveys to determine both broad and fine scale drivers of otter presence within the Peninsula's river systems and predicted that otters would avoid densely populated urban areas and rivers or sections thereof that are heavily transformed and polluted. I collected spraint from living otters and vibrissae from dead otters to investigate their diet. I predicted that otters would show an increased reliance on marine foods in areas where freshwater habitats were degraded in addition to seasonal variation in diet associated with the marked seasonal variation in rainfall and primary productivity typical of temperate Mediterranean ecosystems. I explored both immediate and long-term threats to otters by collating all records of conflict, injury and mortality reported over 5 years in addition to determining PCB levels from road-killed otters. Contrary to my predictions, otters did not avoid urban areas, and were more frequently detected in transformed lowland freshwater river systems close to Marine Protected Areas (MPA). Within rivers otters avoided the relatively pristine, yet unproductive, upper reaches of rivers as well as canalised sections and those with consistently high E.coli counts. I found that otters were feeding on both marine and freshwater prey in both polluted and nonpolluted systems. Where large, transformed lowland wetlands were in close proximity to MPAs, otter diet consisted largely of a combination of freshwater crabs and exotic fish from the polluted systems as well as marine fish and rock lobster from the relatively unpolluted MPA. Isotope results complemented the faecal analyses and confirmed that otters show significant variation in diet between seasons, sites and individuals, suggesting an opportunistic and generalist foraging strategy. Importantly, the dietary results reinforce the distribution model that otters rely heavily on the interface between coastal and lowland wetland and river ecosystems close to the MPA, for both foraging and breeding habitat. However, these are the areas that are transformed and heavily impacted by urban development, and therefore the area where otters would most likely be at risk. I developed a hotspot map of otter conflict across the Peninsula and found that the Peninsula otter population experiences low to moderate levels of conflict throughout most of their current range. High conflict areas are associated with optimal habitat that has been fragmented by canalisation and urban development. Road-killed otters showed signs of accumulation of PCBs in liver tissue suggesting that despite otters being adaptable generalists, their dependence on polluted freshwater systems may have long-term health impacts. Mitigating these threats is possible with improved urban planning, waste water treatment and education of the public. However the success of these approaches requires long-term monitoring which is unlikely to be prioritised by resource constrained conservation authorities. I thus explored whether the large citizen science community in Cape Town can be used to monitor the population. I used Maxent to model otter distribution using citizen reported sightings over 5 years and compared the results with the occupancy model outputs. The predicted Maxent distribution mirrored that provided by occupancy models, and highlighted further areas of suitable otter habitat and routes for dispersal. Together my findings suggest that Cape clawless otters, like many other meso-carnivores in South Africa and globally, display a remarkable ability to adapt to human-modified environments using the interface between degraded freshwater systems and the inshore region to feed on a diverse range of prey. Of concern are the moderate to high levels of conflict with people and dogs, vehicle accidents and the accumulation of toxins. Long-term monitoring of the population and the effect of proposed interventions can be achieved by creating a platform for citizen sightings to be recorded in perpetuity at low cost. This platform can also serve as tool for educating the public on the global challenges of conserving biodiversity within and adjacent to large cities.

The current study examined 236 undergraduate students in a week long twice-per-day ecological momentary assessment exploring the influence of baseline reward sensitivity and interactions between circadian variables (i.e., total sleep time, sleep quality) and daily measures of reward. Though primary study findings did not support reward sensitivity related moderation of sleep-reward pathways, a number of notable findings emerged. We found evidence of specific domains of reward sensitivity (anticipatory reward and reward responsiveness) which are uniquely related to daily experiences of reward. In addition, bidirectional circadian-reward pathways were found between sleep quality and daily rewards which suggests pathways towards reward-related engagement. Evidence also supported interactions between sleep quality and total sleep time on experience of daily reward, further highlighting the complexity of sleep-reward pathways and their relevance to mood symptoms.

The present study explored experimenters’ looking behavior in a gaze-following task as a function of infant temperament. Two experienced female experimenters ran 62 15-month-olds through a six-trial gaze-following procedure in which infants were not distracted on the first three trials, but were distracted on the latter three trials by an Elmo video playing in the background. Although experimenters were trained to look at target objects for eight seconds per trial and were blind to infant temperamental status, both experimenters looked significantly longer during the non-distracted trials when infants were rated by their caregivers as high on effortful control or surgency. These results suggest that even experienced experimenters are susceptible to infant-driven influences. More importantly, these results highlight the importance of conceptualizing lab-based infant research involving human experimenters as, in Bronfenbrenner's (1977) terms, representing the totality of a functional social system that does not exclude the experimenters.

This thesis engages with urban ecology through the lens of garden amphibians within a community in Cape Town. The study explores habitat and maintenance features associated with amphibian presence and the social processes underpinning attitudes towards amphibians, with the aim of strengthening knowledge underpinning the "what" (knowledge of natural requirements), "Why" (social drivers for urban landscape form and management), and the "how" (working with people, for garden biodiversity initiatives. To explore the "Why" component, a social survey was conducted with 192 members of the community. One‐way anova and correspondence analysis were used to explore the relationship between values, culture, knowledge and memories of early childhood experiences against a general attitude towards frogs and toads. The findings are consistent with the theoretical framework of Connectedness To Nature where positive attitudes are supported by normative values, cultural beliefs, knowledge and positive experiences with care‐givers and role‐models. The garden habitat component of the study sought to explore the technical questions of the "What" requirement for amphibian presence in gardens. It was loosely based on the BIMBY tool with adaptations for context and targeted species. 50 gardens were visited and surveyed. They were divided into two groups for comparison: Those in which residents reported amphibian presence, and those which did not. Results indicate that the cape river frog (A. fuscigula) and clicking stream frog (S. grayii), are attracted to gardens with moderate to dense vegetation at groundcover level. Gardens with moderately planted beds were more likely to report frogs if they had additional resources, in particular, ponds and mulch. The "How" question brought together the two themes in a discussion on citizen mobilization and ways in which community groups are successfully implementing urban ecology conservation and reconciliation strategies. This work is important for urban nature conservation which seeks to engage private land‐owners (garden enthusiasts) and community and citizen groups in implementing urban biodiversity projects.