My diploma thesis deals with Low-threshold services for children and youth and with fulfilling of the standards for quality in social services. Firstly I analysed problems of leisure time, historical events in the development in Low-threshold services for children and youth and binding documents for social workers. These problems are also discussed in relevance to the social services law. I mentioned the principles of low-threshold, aims of these establishments, target group and the whole process of this programme. One chapter deals with the management and financing and with social workers, their qualities, competences and supervision as the aide in self-education, and beneficiaries of social services and their characteristics. What threatens these beneficiaries are socio-pathological phenomenons, the most important ones are listed and I added the prevention. I described one mentioned establishment, which employs volunteers. For the evaluation of fulfilling of standards in social services I have chosen two low-threshold services for children and youth from Hradec Králové, where I have found if the standars are fulfilled or not by means of studying of methodology, observations and interviews with workers and beneficiaries. For conclusion I suggested some improvements which could be used in these establishments.

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of appreciative inquiry (AI) on the development of organisational culture after a merger. The empirical study was con-ducted among the employees of a telecommunications company in South Africa. AI was conducted after a merger of teams within a department of the organisation to assist in the development of a new and combined team culture. Interactive qualitative analysis (IQA) was used to determine the impact of AI on the new culture. The sample size for the study was 35 for the AI session and 20 for the IQA. A qualitative approach was adopted in this study in order to understand and explore the experiences of individuals who had recently been a part of the change process. The research design was based on IQA, a structured approach which constructs a systematic representation of the experience. It was found that AI allowed the teams to gain a new understanding of and insight into what it meant to work together as a unit. A significant difference was noted in the IQA facilitation that was performed six months after the AI session. This re-search therefore confirmed that the AI had a significant positive impact on the culture of the organisation under investigation. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Com. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

This three-year PhD study looks at heritage performance in impact assessment (IA) practices, analysing the urban planning context and management experiences of selected urban World Heritage (WH) sites in the UK. The research develops recommendations for assessing the impact of plans, programmes and projects on heritage values in culturally significant urban areas with the emphasis on Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of large-scale projects in an urban environment. The research analyses theoretical and empirical approaches to heritage management, investigates methodologies for heritage IA and explores opportunities for and barriers to improved heritage IA in the context of current UK policy. In particular, the research contributes with the conceptual framework of identification, interpretation and management of the cultural heritage in the urban planning system. The review of academic and other relevant literature helped to develop the conceptual framework. The data was collected by means of desk-based documents analysis, case studies, focus-group seminars and an on-line Questionnaire with the experts in the heritage and IA fields. The world’s most well-known and arguably most protected sites with officially identified Outstanding Universal Value – WH sites – provide general lessons for the heritage management and IA of new developments and infrastructure projects. The management of UK WH sites could be said to have the features of what is known as a values-based approach to conservation. This approach emphasises the identification of cultural heritage significance with the early participation of different stakeholders in the planning process; the latter has a scope for improvement in the UK context. Research on the boundaries of the heritage and IA fields leads to an improved understanding of cultural heritage and provides a framework for the IA process. The developed framework and the criteria for an enabling environment could be useful for achieving agreement between the different stakeholders, and could allow a smoother planning decision-making process, leading in turn to a reduced need for monitoring from international bodies. The results are useful for planners and developers in the context of western practice, and could also be relevant to the development of international guidelines.

The conflict in the Pacific Northwest between competing visions of how federal forests should be managed resulted in a political stalemate in the early 1990s. The Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) was initiated to resolve the demands for maintaining ecosystem processes and biological diversity with the social and economic needs for timber harvest. The foundation for the plan rested with the development of ecosystem management. The intent of this research is to explore the events which led up to the adoption of the NWFP, how it was implemented by the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management and the subsequent reactions to and consequences of the plan. The primary research consisted of thirty-eight semi-structured interviews with individuals responsible for the development of the initial plan, those tasked with implementing the plan and current federal agency personnel from the land management agencies and regulatory agencies. With the use of thematic analysis, key meanings were captured as expressed by the interviewees. The data was analyzed using institutional theory, capturing the organizational relations within the organizational field of the land management agencies. Research findings suggest that the NWFP was unsuccessful in meeting the goal of addressing the social and economic issues as well as the goals for ecosystem management. This dissertation explores the organizational practices and cultural meanings that led to the final instantiation of the plan. It seeks to shed light on the reasons why these goals were not met and how future forest plans can move beyond the current stalemate between conservation and preservation.

This thesis seeks to contribute to the improved understanding of social systems analysis in management effectiveness research on protected areas. It develops and applies propositions for incorporating the analysis of social systems into management effectiveness research. The propositions are designed as theoretical constructs which represent some aspects of social reality in protected area management. They signify an organized way of thinking about the social domain of protected area management. It is argued that an analysis of management effectiveness must recognize the need to take into account the inherent interactive nature of the connections among three variables, relationships, learning and demands. It is suggested that the three variables do not exist in isolation, but are interconnected and exert influence on each other. The interactions among the variables provide this study with a conceptual structure for analyzing the social domain of protected area management. The thesis conceives the management of relationships as a behavioral process in which protected area management agencies influence the decisions and actions of other parties, and vice versa, over a period of time in order to advance shared interests. The effectiveness of relationship management depends on integrated learning, a collective process of managing information in a timely manner so as to enhance the responsiveness of social actors involved with protected areas. Demand management is viewed as a social process in which protected area management agencies develop timely and defensible responses to current and emerging demands from stakeholders. The management of demands is expressed through relationship management and integrated learning. Important in this context is the capability of social actors to cope with complexity, change and surprises. The thesis should be seen as a theoretical premise that focuses on the learning competence of social actors by aligning and fostering their ability to respond timely to the ever-changing demands on protected areas through the effective management of relationships. It should be viewed as making a contribution to the move in protected area management towards developing learning organizations and institutions through a systems approach. This should be interpreted as enhancing learning about the human dimensions of protected area management. And more specifically, effective learning generates timely responses in the management of demands and relationships. The implications of failure to respond quickly enough are epitomized in a number of South African examples such as rivers that stop flowing and conflicts over resource use. The thesis makes a contribution to management effectiveness research by examining in some important ways why research should not be determined solely by biophysical components, but should be extended to the broader social issues that define the nature and quality of management. It is argued that a deep appreciation of management effectiveness requires an understanding of relationships, learning and demands to provide a foundation for systemic social analyses. The thesis illustrates why a behavioral approach to relationships theory provides a foundation for resilient social relationships in collaborative processes. It shows why the establishment and maintenance of an integrated learning system take place in a complex context which links elements of governance learning and management learning. It also evinces why protected area management agencies have to incorporate mental models into adaptive management of demands. These insights imply that the opportunities for effective protected area management are largely contingent on systemic insights into the underlying social structures and processes responsible for emergent problems. By exposing the insights, research on management effectiveness is poised to take new direction. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

This dissertation uses a Sociological approach to analyse the risks associated with the practice of securities lending. Risks are those factors that inhibit the development of trust, and trust is essential for people to participate in financial transactions like securities lending. In this dissertation we show that, although there are a number of risks, individual and systemic, that are associated with securities lending, practitioners have, over time, developed an array of risk management procedures and practices to keep these risks at acceptable levels. Securities lending is however not practiced in a vacuum and the relevance of these risk management procedures is largely determined by the cultural environment in which it is practised. Values, norms and sanctions are crucial as social controls over behaviour that transpires in social structures. The presence of structural conditions necessary for the development of a culture of extreme opportunism is shown as arguably the greatest source of risk facing those who participate in financial transactions like securities lending. / Sociology / M.A.

This study explores the cultural adjustment of the domestic partners of German expatriates working in the Nelson Mandela Bay automotive industry of South Africa. The data was collected by distributing pre-interview questionnaires to the participants and conducting in-depth interviews with them. Grounded theory was used in the data collection and analysis and an auto-ethnographic approach was employed, allowing for reflexivity. The findings suggest that the expatriated domestic partners did not necessarily experience much difficulty in adjusting to South African culture as they did, for example, adjusting to not being able to work for the duration of their stay. The research has also shown that the unmarried domestic partners of expatriate employees are at a disadvantage compared to their married counterparts; receiving less assistance from the companies of their partners. Based on the findings, it has been recommended that companies refine and streamline the assistance they offer to the domestic partners of their expatriate employees, providing all domestic partners with the same pre-departure training and entitling them to the same benefits.

Diploma thesis focuses on clarifying of sociocybernetics principles and its connection to other sciences. It refers to possible approach to information, knowledge, systems. Further, it appeals to individuals in terms of social system and their values, abstract reality perception, utilization of feedback, autopoiesis (self-organization) and many others. Theoretical frame offers to reader awareness about this topic. Practical part points out possible application of this concept along complex organization analysis. Results of analysis refer to bottlenecks and possible improvements, in terms of sociocybernetics principles and methods.

The diploma thesis deals with social networks from the perspective of their impact on search engine optimization (SEO). It focuses on description how the search engine marketing works. Main emphasis is given on the description of key social networks that have an assumption (because of their functionality) to affect of shifting the search results. Some social services also have an impact on indexing new content in search engines. They are also an important part of the strategy for online reputation management. Part of the diploma thesis is devoted to the modern concept of SEO which is defined as findability marketing. This concept consider the social networks as internet websites where users looking for information. That is the reason why this thesis contains a chapter about search capabilities on social networks.

Orientador: Cristiana Simão Seixas / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-27T06:11:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Islas_CamilaAlvez_M.pdf: 6133137 bytes, checksum: ebdb2978dff83f18d49a9a85333257f8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: Nesta dissertação investiguei o Conhecimento Ecológico Tradicional (CET) sobre a fauna silvestre em uma comunidade Caiçara, localizada dentro de uma Unidade de Conservação (UC) de proteção integral, para gerar informações para o manejo de fauna dentro da reserva e em Unidades de Conservação brasileiras, incorporando princípios das abordagens de Manejo de Base Ecossistêmica e Ecossystem Stewardship. Este estudo foi realizado na comunidade da Praia do Sono, situada dentro da Reserva Ecológica Estadual da Juatinga (REEJ), no município de Paraty, RJ, que atualmente passa por um processo de recategorização para adequar-se à legislação federal, o que pode modificar a relação das comunidades com os recursos de subsistência, como os animais silvestres. Além disso, teorias e abordagens de manejo de recursos naturais poderão ser incorporadas ao novo plano de manejo. Para a coleta de dados realizei quatro conjuntos de entrevistas: i) entrevista semiestruturada, com 39 unidades familiares da Praia do Sono, para investigação dos usos, interações negativas e conservação da fauna na comunidade; ii) entrevista estruturada, com 7 informantes-chave da comunidade, para correlação entre os nomes populares e científicos iii) entrevista semiestruturada, com 4 informantes-chave da comunidade, para investigação do CET sobre biologia da fauna silvestre; e iv) entrevista semiestruturada, com 10 funcionários da REEJ, para compreender sua visão sobre a gestão de recursos na reserva. Utilizei também conversas não planejadas e observação direta. Na comunidade da Praia do Sono, os animais silvestres são utilizados principalmente como alimento, mas também como remédio e estimação. As interações negativas são motivadas por prejuízos que ocorrem na agricultura, na criação de animais domésticos, à saúde e por lazer. Após análise dos dados, os animais apontados como relevantes para o manejo da reserva, devido a suas características cinegéticas, seu potencial de gerar interações negativas ou por suas flutuações populacionais, são os mamíferos: paca (Cuniculus paca), cutia (Dasyprocta leporina), gambá (Didelphis sp.), tatu (Dasypus sp.), coati (Nasua nasua), veado (Mazama americana), porco-do-mato (Pecari tajacu), macaco-prego (Sapajus nigritus) e jaguatirica (Leopardus sp.); as aves: jacu (Penelope obscura), macuco (Tinamus solitarius), e tucano (Ramphastos sp.); e o réptil lagarto-teiú (Tupinambis merianae). Ainda, foram encontrados apetrechos, técnicas e regras de Caça Caiçara que devem, especialmente, serem considerados na gestão da Reserva. O CET encontrado é bastante robusto e possui potencial para ser utilizado no manejo da UC, pois contém uma gama valiosa de informações sobre os animais silvestres. Nesse contexto, o uso da abordagem Manejo de Base Ecossistêmica para a elaboração de um plano de manejo pode trazer benefícios para a REEJ e para outras UCs brasileiras, devido a proposta de integração do CET as informações técnico-científicas e a visão sistêmica da abordagem. A estratégia Ecosystem Stewardship complementa a abordagem de Manejo de Base Ecossistêmica ao propor uma gestão "de baixo para cima", na qual os usuários dos recursos seriam os maiores responsáveis pelo seu cuidado e garantia de sua sustentabilidade. Afinal, as interações entre a população humana local e a fauna vem se modificando, apresentando distintas formas de compreender a conservação. Ao reconhecer que as populações tradicionais necessitam utilizar os recursos naturais para viabilizarem sua existência serão encontrados usos e interações negativas danosas aos ecossistemas, mas também soluções para o manejo desses recursos. É na construção junto as comunidades que é possível encontrar respostas para a conservação, e o Conhecimento Ecológico Tradicional mostrou-se um valioso aliado nessa caminhada / Abstract: Here I have investigated the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) on wild animals in a Caiçara community, located within a full protected area (PA), to generate information for the wildlife management in the reserve and in Brazilian protected areas, incorporating principles of Ecosystem-based Management and Ecosystem Stewardship approaches. This study was conducted in Praia do Sono¿s community, located within the Juatinga State Ecological Reserve (JSER) in Paraty municipality, Rio de Janeiro state, which is currently undergoing a re-categorization process to adapt to federal legislation, which may modify the relationship of communities with subsistence resources like wild animals. In addition, theories and management approaches to natural resources could be incorporated into the new management plan. For data collection I conducted four groups of interviews: i) semi-structured with 39 Caiçara family¿s units, to investigate uses, negative interactions and conservation of fauna in the community; ii) structured interviews, with seven key informants of the community, for correlation between popular and scientific names; iii) semi-structured interviews with four key informants of the community, to investigate TEK on biology of wildlife; and iv) semi-structured interviews with 10 JSER employees, to understand their view on resource management in the Reserve. I also used unplanned conversations and direct observation. In Praia do Sono¿s community, wild animals are mainly used as food sources, but also as medicine and pets. Negative interactions occur motivated by losses in agriculture and animal husbandry, as well due to fear of attack and leisure. After analyzing the data, the animals identified as relevant to the management of the Reserve, due to their hunting characteristics, their potential to generate negative interactions or its population fluctuations are the mammals paca (Cuniculus paca), agouti (Dasyprocta leporina), opossum (Didelphis sp.), armadillo (Dasypus sp.), coati (Nasua nasua), brocket deer (Mazama americana), collared peccary (Pecari tajacu), capuchin monkey (Sapajus nigritus) and ocelot (Leopardus sp.); the birds: dusky-legged guan (Penelope obscura), solitary tinamou (Tinamus solitarius), and toucan (Ramphastos sp.); and the reptile: lizard-tegu (Tupinambis merianae). Still, Caiçara¿s hunting traps, techniques and rules were found and should especially be considered in the management of the reserve. The TEK found is robust and has potential to be used in the management of PAs because it contains a valuable range of information about the wildlife. In this context, the use of the Ecosystem Based Management approach for the development of a management plan can benefit the JSER and other Brazilian PAs due to the proposal of integration between TEK and technical and scientific knowledge and the systemic view of the approach. The Ecosystem Stewardship strategy complements Ecosystem-based Management approach whit its proposal of a "bottom-up" management, in which resource users are the most responsible for resource care and its sustainability ensuring. After all, interactions between local human population and fauna has been changing, with different ways of understanding conservation. Recognizing that traditional populations need to use natural resources to ensure their survival will highlight damaging uses and and negative interactions harmful to ecosystems, but may also be found solutions for manage resources. It is in the building with the communities that you can find answers for conservation, and the Traditional Ecological Knowledge proved to be a valuable ally in this journey / Mestrado / Ecologia / Mestra em Ecologia