ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that one way New Zealand's high prevalence of child abuse can be reduced is by the government increasing the legislative and policy responses within an ecological framework, to child abuse prevention. This is because such responses would ensure a 'best practice' approach to child abuse prevention. This 'best-practice' approach is one where child abuse prevention measures are community-driven, child-centred, multi-disciplinary and inter-sectoral. Section 1 of this thesis will provide a background on the different types of child abuse, why child abuse occurs and what the consequences of child abuse are. This section will also cover some current statistics on the incidences of child abuse in New Zealand. Additionally, there is a discussion on how child abuse is increasingly being minimised within a family violence paradigm - even though family violence is only one form of child abuse. New Zealand does not have a good track record when it comes to its rates of child abuse. Section 1 is intended to give the reader a very clear picture of how children in New Zealand are not currently being protected adequately enough from child abuse. This protection should be coming from the adults in their lives, in their community and in their nation. Section 2 of this thesis outlines an ecological framework for child abuse prevention. More specifically the way in which such an ecological model is operating presently in New Zealand, at particularly an exosystem (community) and macrosystem (national) level. The second part of this section discusses factors which will ensure the 'success' of an ecological framework for child abuse prevention. By 'success' the author is referring to a framework in which the primary outcome is the prevalence of child abuse in New Zealand is reducing. Section 3 of this thesis will contain the substantive arguments of this paper. New Zealand does currently have in place legislative and policy responses to child abuse prevention. However, the author maintains these responses to date have not been sufficient because New Zealand's rates of child abuse continue to escalate. This section consists of 19 recommendations of legislative and policy responses that could be implemented at a macrosystem/national level. At the conclusion of the recommendations contained in this thesis, it becomes clear that the government does need to respond urgently to New Zealand's growing child abuse rates. New Zealand can no longer afford to have a reactive, ad-hoc approach to child abuse. Nor can the response at a macro level continue to be one of rhetoric where there is more talk on child abuse prevention than there is on activating, monitoring and funding practical solutions. It is the author's contention that if the government considered the interests and welfare of children as paramount in legislative and policy decisions that relate to children, then this will send a strong and clear signal to the adults in childrens' lives that children are not to be abused. Instead, children are to be nurtured, respected and cherished in every way.

Connectivity in ecological systems is a broad concept that embodies the transmission of ecosystem components throughout landscapes at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Of relevance to the present study are the connections (or lack thereof) among local populations of stream fauna - population connectivity in lotic systems. Dispersal, recolonisation and migration are the demographic forms of population connectivity, and gene flow is the genetic aspect of population connectivity. Both forms of population connectivity have underpinned some of the classic theories and hypotheses in stream ecology, and have implications for pure and applied stream ecology, including ecosystem restoration. Conceptual models in ecology can facilitate understanding and predictability of the ecosystem processes they represent, and have potential applicability as management tools or 'rules of thumb' in conservation and restoration programs. Various theoretical models describe potential patterns of connectivity among local populations and in this thesis these models were used to evaluate population connectivity in a freshwater fish (southern pygmy perch, Nannoperca australis) and two reproductively isolated genetic lineages of freshwater shrimp (Paratya spp.) in small, geomorphically degraded streams in south eastern Australia. These streams (the Granite Creeks) have been the focus of a recent habitat restoration trial and several studies have examined fish and macroinvertebrate community responses to the experiment. It was the purpose of this study to contribute information about population connectivity in the selected species to complement these community ecology studies. Population connectivity was examined in these species using molecular data (mitochondrial and nuclear genetic data) and natural abundance isotopic signatures of nitrogen and carbon. At the landscape scale, results showed that populations of N. australis and the P. australiensis lineages were isolated among the streams and among sites within streams, and that there was no consistent pattern of isolation-by-distance in genetic data for any species. Thus, classic models of population connectivity, such as the Island Model and Stepping-Stone Model, were not supported by this study. Results indicated that population models that incorporated more complex aspects of stream structure may be more appropriate than these classic models for approximating observed patterns of population connectivity in lotic systems. The Stream Hierarchy Model (SHM) predicts that the hierarchical aspect of stream structure (i.e. stream confluences) have a dominant role in shaping patterns of population connectivity in lotic fauna, whereby populations among streams are more isolated than those within them. Although stream confluences were found to have an important role in population subdivision for the species examined in this study, the expectations of the SHM were met for only N. australis. For the P. australiensis lineages, the influence of topography (i.e. the longitudinal aspect of stream structure) was just as important as stream confluences in isolating local populations. Large-scale determinants of population isolation were thus found to be associated with both the hierarchical and longitudinal aspects of stream structure, and were not well represented by any single theoretical model of population connectivity. At within-stream scales, upland populations tended to be extremely isolated from other populations and had temporally stable genetic signatures. In contrast, lowland populations were connected to other lowland populations within the same stream to a greater degree, although the connections were patchy and a slight signature of temporal instability in the genetic data was evident for one of the P. australiensis lineages. Thus, metapopulation or patchy population models were found to represent connections among lowland populations within the same stream, although they were not appropriate for describing connectivity among upland populations. This finding highlights the importance of the longitudinal aspect of stream structure in shaping ecological patterns in lotic systems, and demonstrates that local patterns of population connectivity can vary over relatively small spatial scales. Overall, the results illustrate that both hierarchical and longitudinal aspects of stream structure can have important roles in isolating populations of stream fauna. They therefore also represent constraints for the ability of aquatic fauna to colonise restored habitat in streams. The corollary of this, however, is that such isolated populations of stream fauna represent appropriate population units at which to target habitat restoration. The hierarchical and longitudinal aspects of stream structure may thus represent 'rules of thumb' or 'landscape filters' that stream restoration ecologists could use to predict likely isolated populations of lotic fauna across the landscape. Such a 'rule of thumb' might be the inclusion of multiple isolated population units in restoration programs, as this strategy is likely to generate the greatest biological response to the restoration at the landscape scale, particularly with respect to intra-specific genetic diversity captured by restoration. At small spatial scales, such as for a single stream or tributary, the longitudinal aspect of stream structure can be an important factor to consider when designing stream habitat restoration programs. In this study, lowland sites were unstable and there were patchy connections among local lowland populations within the same stream, whereas upland populations were isolated at this scale. In contrast, other studies have found that upstream populations of some species can be connected in a patchy fashion in other systems. For such unstable sections of stream, where there are patchy patterns of local population connectivity, the inclusion of multiple restored patches, especially refugial habitat, is likely to produce the greatest biotic response at the patch scale, particularly with respect to demographic responses (such as local colonisation). Multiple restored refugial patches will enable species to persist throughout the stream section during adverse environmental conditions, will allow for variation in local movement patterns and distances between species and between years with contrasting environment conditions (e.g. stream flow), and may harbour different species assemblages and intraspecific genotypes due to stochastic processes (i.e. have functional heterogeneity). The hierarchical and longitudinal aspects of stream structure are thus important determinants of population connectivity at both large and small spatial scales, and have implications for how stream biota will respond to restoration at patch and landscape scales.

This thesis is involved with changes that have occurred to small mammal populations following a major disturbance in the Anglesea region as a result of the 1983 Ash Wednesday fires. Fire, with its effects on spatial and temporal heterogeneity, was found to be an important factor in the maintenance of vegetation and small mammal community structure and diversity in the region. Successional changes in vegetation and small mammal communities were described by multivariate analyses, using data collected annually from 22 study sites. The use of factor analysis techniques, in reducing the annual capture data content, enabled long-term changes in the structure of mammal communities to be interpreted. The small mammal communities in the coastal heath and forest vegetation in the Anglesea region show evidence of a general resilience, (the degree and speed of recovery), to disturbance. Two phases of successional response to fire by mammal species have been proposed; a ‘re-establishment’ phase which occurs in the initial 5-6 years post-fire and is accompanied by rapid increase in species’ abundance, and a subsequent ‘maintenance’ phase accompanied by relatively minor changes in abundance. Habitat Suitability Indices were produced relating to these phases. Vertical density measures of understorey shrubs and herb layers showed significant relationships with small mammal species abundance at the study sites. Long term studies following major disturbances are needed to distinguish between short term recovery of plant and animal species and long term changes in these species. Studies extending over a number of years enable a better directional view of changes in small mammal communities than can be determined from . observations made over a short period. As a part of the investigation into temporal change, it was proposed to undertake trial reintroductions of the Swamp antechinus, Ant echinus minimus, a marsupial dasyurid species which was trapped in the area prior to the 1983 fire, but rarely subsequently. Other more commonly observed native small mammal species (e.g. Rattus fuscipes,R. lutreolus, Antechinus stuartii, Sminthopsis leucopus) had re-invaded the proposed reintroduction site after this fire. Failure of A. minimus to re-establish may have been due to spatial separation of the pre-fire populations coupled with the extensive area burnt in 1983, A source population of the species was located about 100km to the west and habitat utilization and interspecific and niche relationships between the species making the small mammal community explored. Discriminant analysis revealed some spatial separation of species within a habitat based on structural vegetation factors rather than floristic factors. Temporal separation of species was observed, asA. minimus were more active than Rattus species during daylight periods. There was evidence of micro-habitat selection by species, and structural vegetation factors were most commonly identified in statistical analyses as contributing towards selection by small mammal species. Following a theoretical modelling study three reintroduction trials were carried out near Anglesea during 1992-94. Individuals were subsequently radio tracked, and habitat relationships between the species in the small mammal community investigated. Although successful breeding of A, minimus occurred during the latter two trials, the subsequent fate of offspring was not determined. Invasive techniques required to adequately monitor young animals were considered potentially too damaging. Telemetry studies indicated a preference of A. minimus for short, wet heath vegetation. Structural vegetation factors were identified as being significant in discriminating between capture locations of species. Small scale and inexpensive trial reintroductions have yielded valuable additional data on this species and may be viewed as a useful tool in the conservation of other small native mammals.

The natural characteristics of protected areas have changed for a variety of reasons through time. Changes in protected area landscapes can occur because of natural and/or cultural processes. Natural processes such as geomorphological disturbance and climatic condition can permanently and/or temporarily change the characteristics of the environment. In addition, changes in human needs, knowledge and activities are the cultural driving forces behind changing characteristics of landscape through time. These changes can be studied both spatially and temporally. Spatially, protected area landscape structures such as shape, size and location with respect to their neighbourhood context can be studied to describe landscape configuration. Temporally, landscape functions such as different geographical locations and land characteristics can be studied to determine the rate of temporal variability in landscape. Any changes in temporal characteristics may lead to changes in spatial characteristics of protected areas and vice versa. This thesis has developed a framework to enhance the landscape ecological planning approach with attention to changes in landscapes of protected areas. Considering landscape ecological concepts, this framework draws upon spatial and temporal characteristics of protected areas. Initially, a basic model of the landscape ecological approach to protected area planning and data requirements for landscape ecological planning was developed according to the concept of landscape ecological planning. In order to examine the model in the real world, the data requirements for landscape ecological planning were implemented using a case study method. The basic list of data required for landscape ecological planning was further developed through the case study approach by highlighting the importance of road metrics in the process of planning. In addition, the case study approach proved that spatial and temporal metrics can be used in the interpretation of spatial configuration and temporal variability of protected areas th rough a quantitative method. The framework was developed for three case studies in Iran and three case studies in Australia. A number of metrics were applied in order to quantify spatial and temporal aspects of the protected areas. A list of spatial and temporal criteria was developed to assist interpretation of area compaction, spatial fragmentation and temporal variability of protected areas. Using the criteria list, a new framework for spatial and temporal evaluation of protected areas has been developed. This can be used to determine spatial and temporal management issues of protected areas at the landscape scale. Then planning scenarios for spatial and temporal issues of protected areas at the landscape scale can be suggested. The developed framework has the potential to be applied to all protected areas even where detailed ecological data and information are not available. In addition, when all data required are available, the developed framework using spatial and temporal metrics has the potential to suggest a flexible zoning plan for protected areas.

<p>Syftet med denna undesökning var att ur ett ekologiskt perspektiv undersöka betydelsen av interna och externa resurser för integrationen för nyanlända flyktingar i Fagersta kommun, och om något upplevts särskilt viktigt för integrationen som bidragit till känsla av hopp och framtidstro. Två delstudier genomfördes. En kartläggning gjordes av lagar och regleringar som påverkar flyktingpolitiken samt en dokumentanalys av lokala policy- och styrdokument i Fagersta kommun. Åtta semistrukturerade ntervjuer genomfördes med fyra kvinnliga och fyra manliga flyktingar bosatta i Fagersta. Resultatet, som överensstämmer med tidigare forskning, visade att flyktingar behöver ges möjlighet att vara aktiva i sin egen anpassningsprocess. Slutsatsen är att flyktingar som känner sig delaktiga mår bättre vilket främjar integrationen.</p> / <p>The purpose of this paper was, from an ecological perspective, to study the importance of internal and external resources for the integration process for new refugees coming into the Fagersta community. Also to study whether the refugees benefited from any particular part of the integration process that contributed to an increased personal sense of hope and belief in their future. Two studies were carried out. Firstly, a chart of the laws and regulations affecting the integration politics was undertaken. Secondly, an analysis was made of the local policy and regulation dociments in the Fagersta community. Eight semi structured interviews were carried through with four female and four male refugees that had previously settled in the Fagerta community. The results of these interviews supported earlier studies that confirmed that refugees need the opportunity to be active in their own adjustment process. The conclusion is that refugees that feel they are allowed to, and are able to, participate in their own integration process experience a greater sense of well-being which, in turn, contributes to a more successful integration within their new community.</p>

<p>Global biodiversity is currently being lost at an unprecedented rate, posing a threat to vital ecosystems and hence the generation of ecosystem services that human society is entirely reliant upon. Within the European Community, the EU has set a target of halting biodiversity loss within the territory by 2010. This goal is intended to be operationalized by the implementation of the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive. These directives constitute the framework for the establishment of a coherent ecological network, referred to as the Natura 2000 network.</p><p>This study examines and analyses the socio-ecological complexities surrounding the designation of Natura 2000 sites in Östhammar municipality, Sweden. The use of a case study-approach to focus on this area is applied in pursuit of identifying and explaining the inherent intricacies in the designation processes and linking them to the broader global context. Throughout Europe, biodiversity exists in a rich variety of grasslands, but only a few studies have been performed to establish appropriate conservation management strategiesrequired for each habitat. This study makes a significant contribution towards shedding light on the Natura 2000 designation process, a phenomenon which has previously been only modestly documented, especially in Sweden. Ecosystem management is discussed and utilized as the theoretical basis for managing ecosystems sustainably, and an important aspect of note is the recognition that the distinction between man and nature needs to be understood as artificial and arbitrary.</p><p>The study explains how social-ecological factors have had a prominent effect on the designation process of Natura 2000 sites. The main determining factor behind the designation process has been the time-constraints, which have affected the designation of SCIs as well as the interaction between the Uppsala CAD and local stakeholders. The lack of adequate participatory approaches used during this process has heightened the risk of compromising the aim of the network: to achieve Favourable Conservation Status (FCS) for natural habitat types as well as species.</p> / <p>Biodiversiteten världen över minskar i en tidigare aldrig skådad hastighet vilket resulterar i ett hot mot fundamentala ekosystem, samt dess produktion av de ekosystemtjänster som det mänskliga samhället är beroende av. På grund av detta har EU satt upp målet att stoppa förlusten av biodiversitet inom unionens gränser tills 2010. Detta mål skall uppnås genom implementeringen av Habitat- och Fågeldirektivet. Dessa direktiv utgör ramen för etableringen av ett sammanhängande ekologiskt nätverk, det så kallade Natura 2000 nätverket.</p><p>Denna studie utreder samt analyserar de socio-ekologiska aspekter som omger utpekandet av Natura 2000 områden i Östhammars kommun, i Uppsala län i Sverige. Genom appliceringen av en fallstudie av området söker denna uppsats att identifiera samt förklara inneboende svårigheter i processen av dessa utpekanden, samt att sätta dem i ett globalt sammanhang. Inom Europa existerar biodiversitet bland annat i olika typer av ängar, dock har endast ett fåtal studier tagit sig an uppgiften att formulera anpassade förvaltningsstrategier för dessa habitat. Denna studie bidrar till att sprida ljus över implementeringen av Natura 2000, ett fenomen som tidigare endast studerats i blygsam utsträckning, speciellt i Sverige. Den teoretiska grunden utgörs ekosystemansatsen, som appliceras för att utvärdera ett uthålligtförvaltande av ekosystem. Vidare understryks vikten av att betrakta ekosystem och mänsklig aktivitet som ett och samma system, och att synen på dem som skilda system bör anses artificiell och motsägelsefull.</p><p>Denna uppsats förklarar hur socio-ekologiska aspekter har påverkat utpekandeprocessen av Natura 2000-områden i Östhammars kommun. De avgörande faktorerna bakom detta är en identifierad tidsbrist, vilket har influerat utpekandet av områden av gemenskapsintresse samt interaktionen mellan Länsstyrelsen i Uppsala och lokala markägare. Bristen på samverkan och information har resulterat i en förhöjd risk av att målet med nätverket inte kommer att nås: att åstadkomma gynnsam bevarandestatus för arter och habitat.</p>

<p>Sustainable development includes environmental, social and economic dimension, which has become an accepted concept at all levels of society. There is also a need for these dimensions to integrate with each other. To attain a sustainable development it has to be seen as a whole. The environmental objectives were established by Swedish parliament in 1999; however these objectives are only one of the steps in achieving a sustainable society. Swedish municipality are forced to use the environmental objectives for guidance in planning society. Municipalities have a responsibility to integrate environmental issues into political processes and at the same time contribute to an increase of the awareness about these issues. There is no guidance in the work with the environmental objectives and municipality have to work on the basis of their own environment and conditions.</p><p>The aim of this essay was to study the work of implementing environmental objectives in one municipality, with the focus on the objectives four and fifteen; towards an ecological sustainable development with support of the environmental work of another municipality. The focus of the work lays on the formulation of environmental objectives four and fifteen in order for them to be achieved without difficulty.</p><p>One conclusion is that none of the chosen environmental objectives are reached. The theoretical discussion highlights the importance of a communicative work between different participants and also information about the environmental issues on the individual level.      </p><p>This work was considered to contribute to future research concerning municipalities work with environmental objectives. </p>

<p><strong> ABSTRACT</strong></p><p>The recent years mark the appearance of many Eco-label schemes in the attempt ofhelping consumer to recognize the products with less harm to the environment, forexample: Euro flower, Nordic swan, Blue Angle, Krav. These labels belong to the thirdparties, which get supports from government with object of achieving sustainabledevelopment. However there is still lacking a clear understanding about theeffectiveness of Eco-label in consumer consumption activities due to the lack ofresearch working on that field. We take this challenge as an opportunity to do the studyof investigating about the role of Eco-label in the process of leading consumers topurchase Eco-products. The research focuses on Swedish university students‘ choice onecological food.</p><p>A number of Swedish students in Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden are selected as thegroup of respondents for this study. In order to understand the effectiveness of Eco-labelin students‘ food products choice, four key factors are taken into account to invest igate:students‘ awareness on Eco-label, students‘ knowledge on Eco-label & ecological food,students‘ environment motivation, and the availability of ecological food & Eco-labelinformation. The demographic characters including gender and education backgroundsare known as the influence factors among these four factors.</p><p>The results proved the effectiveness of Eco-label as the guiding instrument for students‘product choice towards ecological food. It provided the evidence that three of these fourfactors above (accept the only one external factors: availability) can encourage students‘attention to Eco-label. In additional, student‘s attention to Eco-label can actually leadtheir purchase behavior on ecological food. With findings and recommendations, thestudy is expected to contribute to the field of ecological consumer behavior marketingresearch. However, the representative of the results is risky because of the limitedcontext and sample of the study.</p>

The overall aim of this research was to explore why some hospitals are more successful than others at reducing the acquisition rates of multidrug-resistant organisms. Using a socio-ecological perspective on health systems adapted from works in ecological restoration, ecosystems management, and healthcare, a participatory comparative case study design was employed. The study was collaboratively conducted on a surgical unit at a Netherlands hospital with very low rates of multidrug-resistant organisms and a surgical unit in a Canadian hospital with higher rates of these pathogens. The cases were selected on the basis that they were both academic health sciences centres of similar size in publicly funded systems; yet, they reported differing rates of MDRO infections. Research methods included a total of six unit observations, nine practitioner-led photo walkabouts of the units (n=13), six photo elicitation focus groups with practitioners (n=26), and the review of relevant policies and procedures and related infection prevention and control data. Common findings across both cases include the perceived importance of engaged leadership, the presence of environmental design issues, a lack of antibiotic prescribing restrictions, and the frequent use of workarounds that may be problematic for infection prevention and control. Disparate findings between cases include differences in ratios of hospital beds per capita, bed occupancy rates, staffing practices, equipment cleaning processes, bed cleaning systems (centralized versus manual) and the presence, in one hospital, of an active grass roots Hygiene in Practice group engaging practitioners in several ongoing activities to promote infection prevention and control. There is a lack of comparable findings between the two cases on hand hygiene audit protocols, surveillance strategies, reporting of acquisition rates, and the nature and extent of high risk populations for community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in the two hospitals catchment areas. The findings and methodological challenges identified in this study suggest that case selection in future comparative infection prevention and control case studies should be based on an expanded list of criteria. These criteria should include comparable audits, surveillance, and reporting practices and comparable demographic and other relevant data, such as data on the agricultural practices within and demographic attributes of vulnerable populations within the hospital catchment areas.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2005. / Bibliography: leaves 201-209.