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This doctoral dissertation examine the specific role of the self-concept and of its different dimensions on the evolution of anorexic symptoms over a period of 140 consecutive days. in two different samples comprising 26 anorexic outpatients and inpatients and in 23 girls without eating disorders (ED). By applying an idiographic approach, the main results show that the level, instability and dynamic of self-concept dimensions, and more precisely of body attractiveness, represent potent predictors of psychological, behavioral (e.g. full score of Eating Disorders Inventory-Adolescent, EDI-A-24) and somatic (e.g. Body Mass Index, BMI) anorexic symptoms over medium (i.e. over a few months), short (i.e. over a few weeks) and very short (i.e. over a few days) periods of time. Moreover, multivariate regression analyses further show that the pattern of association between anorexic symptoms and self concept dimensions remains the same in both samples (anorexic and without ED). Moreover, the results of cross-correlations analyses reveal that anorexic symptoms are as unstable as the dimensions of self-concept, with which they appear to be intertwined. More precisely, body attractiveness, most often a) precedes the drive for thinness, b) is associated to bulimia according to a"vicious circle" phenomenon, and c) fluctuates with according to body dissatisfaction. However body attractiveness was not found to relate to anorexic girls final status at the end of the follow-up period (e.g. deterioration, improvement, stabilization, etc). Finally, the results from a qualitative analysis suggest that social events experienced as positive contribute to the improvement of anorexia nervosa.This appears to be explained by the potential of these events to break through anorectic girls known ego-centered tendencies. Taken as a whole, the 'results highlight the necessity of considering overall of dimensions of self-esteem and the"profiles" of girls with and without ED in preventive and therapeutic interventions for ED.

In this study evidence is presented that suggests transdisciplinary art practices and participatory biology programs may successfully increase public understanding of ecological phenomenon. As today’s environmental issues are often complex and large-scale, finding effective strategies that encourage public awareness and stewardship are paramount for long-term conservation of species and ecosystems. Although artists and biologists tend to stay confined to their professional boundaries, and their discourses largely remain inaccessible to larger audiences, arguments here are presented for a combined approach, which may disseminate knowledge about ecology to non-specialists through novel art-science participatory research and exhibitions. Moreover, historically several scientists utilized varied creative art forms to disseminate scientific insights to a larger populace of non-specialists, such strategies as engaging writings and visually provocative artworks may still be effective to captivate contemporary audiences. In addition such historic hybrid science-art practitioners may have laid a conceptual terrain for some of today’s transdisciplinary art and citizen science practices. Furthermore, seminal ecological artworks from the 20th Century by Joseph Beuys, Patricia Johanson and Hans Haacke utilized novel strategies to reach audiences with a message of wetland conservation, blurring boundaries between art, ecology and activism. More recently artists like Cornelia Hesse-Honegger, Helen and Newton Harrison and others have integrated biological research into their art practices, which resulted in new scientific discoveries. Through my own transdisciplinary artwork about frogs, data suggests that the visual strategies I employ were effective to increase non-specialist understanding of the ecological phenomenon of amphibian declines and deformations. In addition through my participatory biology programs, Public Bio-Art Laboratories and Eco-Actions, evidence suggests that non-specialists achieved an increased awareness of the challenges amphibians and ecosystems currently face. Likewise, that through such participatory citizen science research new scientific insights about the proximate causes for deformities in anuran amphibians at select localities in middle England and Quebec were achieved. Here laboratory and field evidence, generated with the aid of public volunteers, found that non-lethal predatory injury to tadpoles from odonate nymphs and some fishes resulted in permanent limb deformities in post-metamorphic anurans. From an environmental-education and larger conservation standpoint, these findings are very relevant as they offer novel strategies for experientially engaging non-specialist audiences while generating important insights into biological communities and wetland ecosystems.

In the South West of England tourism provides an extremely important form of economic revenue, with 92 million nights spent in the region, generating over £9 billion in visitor spending and 11% of the total workforce employed either directly or indirectly in the sector. However this additional seasonal influx of visitors inevitably places a strain on the natural environment, built resources, infrastructure and communities. In order to readdress the balance tourism as a sector needs to be more sustainable and the emphasis for change is now placed on the individual. Social marketing has been used successfully to encourage behaviour change in the health sector, and is beginning to be recognised for its potential in encouraging sustainable behaviour, but has never been specifically applied in a tourism context. Therefore this research evaluates the potential of applying a social marketing methodology to encourage sustainable behaviour amongst tourists in two case study areas in South West England. Social marketing focusses on changing behaviour by understanding individual perceptions of the barriers to and motivations for behaviour. A social methodology then works to segment individuals into groups that share similar attitudes and beliefs, those groups identified as most likely to respond, are targeted with an intervention to encourage behaviour change. This research identified the perceived and actual barriers to (cost, time, convenience), and motivations for sustainable tourist behaviour among participants from the case study areas and identified three distinct clusters of tourists, one of which was identified as suitable for targeting with a social marketing intervention. This research also revealed that even those most committed to range of sustainable behaviours in the home environment do not continue this behaviour when in the holiday environment. A further dimension was added to this research by exploring the use of an ecological footprint calculator (REAP for Tourism) to quantify the environmental impact of individual tourists and to explore whether pro-environmental attitudes and behaviour equate to lower environmental impact.

Both France and the U.S. have witnessed extensive immigration in the twentieth century, and today, more than ever since World War II, the world's population is in dramatic flux. Currently almost fifty-four million people worldwide are identified by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as displaced people. If and how France and the U.S. should accommodate displaced peoples has agitated political debate in France and the U.S. with conservatively aligned political parties in both countries rejecting calls to resettle displaced peoples in France and the U.S. At the center of this dissertation is the following research question: how are immigrants rhetorically constructed in high school French and U.S. history textbooks? Rhetoric is not just about persuading an audience; it is about using identifications that program the audience not to think, but to automatically believe that one thing is associated with another. In this dissertation I use Kenneth Burke’s rhetoric as identification to examine how immigrants are rhetorically constructed in four high school French history textbooks and two high school American history textbooks, all of which are widely distributed in their respective countries. I disarticulate rhetorical constructions of immigrants in these history textbooks by interrogating the interactions of their political, economic, social, and cultural structures. In Burke’s rhetoric as identification "social cohesion and control" are realized through apposition and opposition. In the following quotation Burke explains a salient element of his rhetoric as identification: “A is not identical with his colleague, B. But insofar as their interests are joined, A is identified with B. Or he may identify himself with B even when their interests are not joined, if he assumes that they are, or is persuaded to believe so.” Why are so many people in France and the U.S. persuaded that peoples displaced by war and poverty should be locked outside their borders? Through a Burkean analysis, I locate answers to this question in the historical master narrative evidenced in the high school French and U.S. history textbooks selected for this study--a narrative that rhetorically constructs skewed characterizations of immigrants.

The modelling of biological communities is important to further the understanding of species coexistence and the mechanisms involved in maintaining biodiversity. This involves considering not only interactions between individual biological organisms, but also the incorporation of covariate information, if available, in the modelling process. This thesis explores the use of point processes to model interactions in bivariate point patterns within a Bayesian framework, and, where applicable, in conjunction with covariate data. Specifically, we distinguish between symmetric and asymmetric species interactions and model these using appropriate point processes. In this thesis we consider both pairwise and area interaction point processes to allow for inhibitory interactions and both inhibitory and attractive interactions. It is envisaged that the analyses and innovations presented in this thesis will contribute to the parsimonious modelling of biological communities.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

Among all contemporary world's discourses that influence environmental design profession, sustainability appears to be a dominant and compelling narrative. The developing trajectory of sustainability in architecture seems to suggest an antinomy paradigm, a contradiction or inconsistency between two apparently reasonable principles or laws i.e. sustainability and aesthetics. As a result, emerging sustainable design requires an accompanying set of aesthetics which serve as design guidance and evaluation tool. Literature review of philosophy and designing profession realize three kinds of alternative aesthetics i.e. environmental, ecological, and performative aesthetics. The thesis argues that this alternative set of sustainable aesthetics provides a theoretical basis for the practical design of a built environment for eco-tourism. The thesis focuses on analyzing the implication of those aesthetics to sustainability in regards to design of ecolodges. Eco-tourism is one of the emerging pragmatic options of sustainable development and to consume ecotourism is to consume aesthetic experience. By reviewing and analyzing the case studies of ecolodge, this thesis provides the design features and strategies which are argued to integrate beauty and sustainability. The thesis also applies the findings to demonstrate the usefulness of aesthetic approach to sustainable design in one specific design proposal, Floating Bamboo Ecolodge in Halong Bay, Vietnam. / text

<p> </p><p>The ecological consumer has been a significant and central character in the development of green marketing. In an effort to enhance brand equity and increase consumers’ loyalty, companies are relying on environmental claims. From advances in processes, to product design and packaging materials that diminish waste, companies are more and more emphasizing on sustainability. The findings of previous research aiming to link purchasing and environmental concerns to socio-demographic factors have been generally inconclusive and inconsistent (Peattie, 2001). Therefore, the purpose of this study aims to identify if sustainable packaging can be used as a marketing tool to increase brand equity. In addition, the authors intended to identify who is consuming sustainable products and particularly sustainable packaging.</p><p>The review of previous research concerning this topic led us to express two hypotheses. First, women are more involved by the purchasing process than men. Second, sustainable consumption is seen as a time consuming activity, economically disadvantageous and stressful (Valor, 2008).</p><p>Through both a quantitative and a qualitative study we analyzed consumers’ behavior and attitude towards sustainable packaging and green consumption in general.</p><p>The findings of the study allowed us to conclude that the gap between consumers’ attitude and purchasing decision concerning ecological products in general is important. The main reasons are a lack of communication, promotion and availability regarding these products as well as the high-proposed price. Furthermore, the study confirmed that women are much more involved than men in the consumption decision making process in both “classic and green” purchasing.</p><p> </p>

This dissertation explores the complex structures and diverse experiences of globalization through the specific analytical lens of community-based natural resource management (CBNRM). CBNRM is an undertaking which is fundamentally local but also integrally connected to transnational conservation ideology and national structures of authority. While recent critiques of community-based conservation projects have challenged the universal efficacy of the approach, CBNRM continues to be a ubiquitous conservation paradigm and to provide lingering hope for local empowerment through resource management. Focusing on two community-based conservation groups formed in Tanzania and Zanzibar, this dissertation looks at the experience of local groups attempting to engage with broader national or international conservation networks by focusing on three tropes of globalization theory: intersections between traditional ecological knowledge and western science, the relationship between civil society and the state, and the specific mechanisms for local engagement with national and global entities. The community groups in this study use dynamic and adaptive strategies to channel resources into their communities. However, they also face significant structural constraints, many of which reveal the neocolonial effects of transnational conservation ideology. This work explores both the factors limiting or manipulating local participation in resource management and the strategies used by these two community-based conservation groups to ensure their participation in spite of those limitations.