This study focuses on the identification of didactic guidelines for presenting values education in secondary schools. The studied literature sends a clear message that values education is of cardinal importance in education, teaching and training. In 2000 the National Department of Education of South Africa assembled a task team to identify a set of values in particular relevant to education and training. In the report Manifesto on Values Education and Democracy (DOE, 2001) six core values are singled out as of primary importance to the new dispensation in South Africa: equality, equal rights, tolerance, multilingualism, transparency, accountability, and social responsibility. The Report focuses only on national, political and social values, however. From research performed by Rens (2005), Hattingh (1999) en Bagarette (1995), it is clear that an individual needs to be educated as a holistic being and all life values thus need to be addressed integratively . A literature study was undertaken to clarify the concepts values, value orientation and values education, and also to determine how adolescents experience values education. Consequently, different values education programmes currently implemented in foreign countries were analysed . It was found that the 'Cornerstone-waardes" programme of John Heenan, applied in New Zealand, could reasonably easily be adapted for the South African context. From the discussion of the curriculating process as applicable to values education, didactic guidelines could be formulated for values education in South African schools. To identify the current orientation to values as manifested by learners, teachers and school principals in South Africa, the values questionnaire compiled by Vreken and Rens (2001) for research on the values orientation of university learners, was adapted and completed by the population involved in this study. Principals were subjected to partly-structured interviews to gain their opinions on values education in schools. Interviews on possible guidelines for values education in South Africa were also conducted by e-mail with international experts. Since the primary aim of the study was to determine the values orientation of secondary school learners and to recommend didactic guidelines for values education, the aim was mainly attained by means of the empirical study. Noteworthy is, however, that there is no symmetry between learners' views on important values and those that the Department of Education finds it necessary to be promoted. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Although the influence of normative ideas on the behaviour of states occupy an evermore significant place in political science and international relations, important questions remain with respect to how international norms come into existence. International norm scholars have been criticized for failing to demonstrate how actors might forge and change norms. How do norm entrepreneurs influence the process of norm development? Further, under what conditions are norm entrepreneurs likely to be successful in norm diffusion? To begin answering these questions, this paper draws on constructivist insights to present a model of norm evolution highlighting the role of the norm entrepreneur and conducts an interpretive case study methodology to provide an empirical illustration. It examines the evolution of the "Responsibility to Protect" (R2P) norm with particular attention to the norm entrepreneurial role of Canadian foreign policy to highlight how norm-building processes are inextricably intertwined with agents who are engaged in fostering nonnative change. / The R2P is considered to be a nonnative breakthrough in international relations and has emerged as an important instrument for upholding and promoting human security. While Canada has been praised for its leadership in promulgating the R2P, there is little empirical scholarship that links the development process of the R2P norm to Canadian foreign policy. How has Canada, with no demonstrative material capability, been able to advance the R2P on the international stage? This thesis develops an understanding of how agents can shape an international norm by acting as a "tipping agent" in the process of norm creation. It concludes by identifying the possibilities and limitations of norm entrepreneurs to influence world politics.

Lithuanian literature of early socialistic realism is called normative literature: literary works were written according to certain set rules in order to meet the requirements of Soviet ideology. Comparisons of edits of the novel Po audros – Dideli įvykiai Naujamiestyje (1947-1948) by J. Dovydaitis, the novel Puodžiūnkiemis (1952) by A. Vienuolis and the novella Pikčiurnienė (1953) by I. Simonaitytė reveal the main norms of writing a Lithuanian novel of that period. In early socialistic realism period, literary works describing the past predominate. The ground of such pieces is based on a class conflict. In order to depict class fights scenes of highlighted clashes between antagonists and protagonists are created. Negative characters are kulaks, enemies of Soviet authorities – who serve for condemning the past. Positive characters are representatives of the new order, fighters for welfare of workers. A group of passive, politically inactive, characters comprise the intelligentsia whose depiction peculiarities were borrowed from Russian literature. The contrast of the past and the future becomes the base of composition of a literary work of early socialistic realism. The past is depicted in dark colours, turned into a legend, while the future is depicted in bright colours, often idealised. Literary works by A. Vienuolis, I. Simonaitytė and J. Dovydaitis are full of pathos, celebrating the new authorities, the role of communists as well as working individuals... [to full text]

Šiandien Lietuva, kaip ir kitos posovietinės valstybės, vis dar išgyvena gana sudėtingą ir prieštaringą socialinį, ekonominį ir teisinį pokyčių laikotarpį, susidurdama su anksčiau nepatirtomis problemomis. Nauja teisinė bazė kuriama praktikoje nepasiteisinusių teisės normų pagrindu, be to, nuolat kintantys visuomeniniai santykiai reikalauja pastovaus darbo administracinės teisėkūros srityje. Socialinė–ekonominė šalies plėtra posovietiniu laikotarpiu reikalauja naujų valdymo formų, veiksmingų sprendimų, todėl pastaraisiais metais itin didelio dėmesio sulaukia vykdomosios valdžios institucijų sistema, jos tobulinimo gairės. Tačiau net teisinės doktrinos nuolatinis tobulinimas ir naujų idėjų kūrimas iki galo neišsprendė egzistuojančių problemų, kadangi buvo nuolat bandoma iškilusias problemas spręsti vien tik teisinėmis priemonėmis, taip užsidarant nuo galimai teigiamo kitų socialinių mokslų poveikio. Socialinių mokslų integracija parodė administracinei teisei neregėtą naują tyrinėjimų plotmę, kadangi jie padeda atskleisti naujų ir pakitusių visuomeninių santykių turinį, taip administracinei teisėkūrai nubrėžiant naujas gaires ir suteikiant galimybę savo normoms priartėti prie realiai susiklosčiusių visuomeninių santykių. Šiame darbe nagrinėjama administracinės teisės ir kitų socialinių mokslų sąveika, poreikis ir perspektyvos. / Today Lithuania is experiencing complicated and contradictory period of social, economical and legal changes as other post-soviet states. Lithuania deals with problems it has not experienced before. A new legal basis is created on legal norms which are not confirmed in practices. Also every moment changing public relations require constant work on legal norms in administrative law. Social-economical development of state in post-soviet period requires new governance forms, effective decisions. However, constant improvement of legal doctrines and creation of new ideas did not solve existing problems, because every arising problem was tried to be solved just in legal means, closing up from other social science’s impact. The integration of social science has shown administrative law as a new social research, which helps to improve a new process of public relations, legal administrative law and come up with legal norms by real public relations. Administrative law’s and other social science’s interaction, requirements and perspectives are analyzed in this work.

Abstract This study used an exploratory research focus to investigate if making electricity consumption public and subject to social norms and networks resulted in consumption decreases for households in Milton, Ontario. In the first phase, Milton Hydro identified customers who fell within an average annual electricity consumption category and these customers were invited to participate by mail. Due to lack of participant uptake, cold-calling, targeting of service and faith groups and commuters, and snowball sampling were employed to obtain a total participant size of 17. The second phase saw participants grouped according to social network type (occupational, faith group, etc) and exposed to approval or disapproval indicators within their group about their daily electricity consumption rates via an on-line ‘energy pool’. There were five main groups: one of neighbours, one of members of a faith group, one of members of a company, one of strangers and one of a control group. Group members saw other members’ indicators with the exception of the control group, whose indicators were privately delivered. All group’s electricity consumption was tracked through daily smart meter readings. Participants also had the option of commenting on each other’s electricity use via an online ‘comment box’. In the third phase participants were asked to participate in a questionnaire to assess: 1) the perceived efficacy of the intervention; 2) perceptions of electricity consumption; and 3) the influence of the group on these perceptions. This sequential methodology was chosen for its ability to “...explain significant (or non-significant) results, outlier results, or surprising results” (Cresswell, 2006, p. 72). The findings of this exploratory research seem to suggest the following: 1) that publicity or group type does not seem to affect electricity consumption in comparative electricity consumption feedback for this study; 2) that participants used injunctive norms to comment on their electricity consumption but directed these comments solely at themselves; and 3) that the stronger the relationships in the group, the more likely participants were to engage with the website through checking it and commenting on it. This study may be useful to those in the fields of: 1) electricity conservation who wish to leverage feedback technologies; 2) social networks who wish to better understand how tie strength interacts with social norms and; 3) those in social marketing who wish to develop norm-based campaigns.

This thesis investigates the question: Can Experience Design be applied to create a perception shift from elderly as a burden to elderly as a resource for society? This is done by researching the social norms about ageing and the aged in Swedish society. To conduct this research I put together a focus group of 7 people with different professional backgrounds and ages ranging from 23 to 74. In four workshops I used design-led research methods to research these “mental models”. Using participatory theatre techniques we investigated the personal view of the ageing process. And through discussions and design thinking we articulated the often unspoken social norms. In the workshops we defined our current social norms regarding ageing as Aged Thinking. A counter philosophy was developed called Ageless Thinking. In order to create a change in mindset from Aged Thinking to Ageless Thinking a tool was developed called the Enticon. With this tool people can show what their focus is in life right now regardless of their chronological age. The Enticon was introduced at the Konstfack Spring Exhibition 2013 and also as a web based application.

The persistence of a species in the face of environmental change is a function of the extent to which populations respond differently to changes in their environment and the spatial correspondence between the scale of disturbance and the scale of adaptation. The pattern by which a population, or genotype, expresses a range of phenotypes across an environmental gradient is called a norm of reaction. The level of phenotypic plasticity displayed within a population (i.e. the slope of the reaction norm) reflects the short-term response of a population to environmental change while variation in reaction norm slopes among populations reflects the spatial scale of variation in these responses. Using a reaction norm framework, I examined the spatial scale of genetic variation in plasticity for life-history traits in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), a marine fish of global biological and socioeconomic importance. Through common-garden experiments, I found evidence of both adaptive and non-adaptive plasticity for larval growth rate and survival in two cod populations that experience contrasting thermal environments in nature. A comparison of these reaction norms with those of four cod populations studied previously revealed significant genetic divergence in adaptive traits at a smaller spatial scale than has previously been shown for a marine fish with no apparent physical barriers to gene flow (<250 km). This fine-scale genetic structure is likely the result of populations being locally adapted to seasonal changes in temperature during the larval stage caused by differences in spawning times and may be maintained by behavioural barriers to gene flow. Implications of variation in life-history trait plasticity to fisheries management in the face of predicted changes in climate are discussed.

Bien qu'en apparente amélioration, l'état de la sécurité maritime n'est pas aussi reluisant que ne le laissent croire les statistiques en la matière. Une série d'accidents ayant culminé avec le naufrage de l'Erika le long des côtes françaises en décembre 1999 témoignent que des failles persistent, notamment dans son système juridique. Ces failles renvoient essentiellement à l'application et au contrôle déficients des règles juridiques existantes en la matière, voire leur évitement par les acteurs y associés. Or, le susdit naufrage démontra que cette déficience n'est pas le propre de certains intervenants isolés, traditionnellement identifiés comme responsables de tous les maux dans le transport maritime, qu'il s'agisse d'armateurs « laxistes » ou d'États de pavillons « de complaisance », mais bel et bien d'un réseau entier d'acteurs. Cette « chaîne » d'acteurs responsables de l'application des règles de la sécurité maritime se révéla, en fait, particulièrement compromise dans le cas de l'Erika et des failles furent décelées dans chacune de ses composantes; allant des chantiers navals ayant construit ou réparé le navire, jusqu'aux autorités portuaires l'ayant inspecté/détenu, en passant par les propriétaires du navire, ses gestionnaires, financiers, assureurs, sociétés de classification, son État de pavillon, affréteur, capitaine et son équipage, pour ne nommer qu'eux. Ainsi, l'affaire de l'Erika révéla l'existence - et l'étendue véritable - de ce qu'il fut convenu de désigner comme une « chaîne de responsabilité » dans le domaine de la sécurité maritime. C'est, donc, cette chaîne d'acteurs et, le cas échéant, les mesures (légales et autres) élaborées en vue de sa responsabilisation accrue et de l'amélioration de sa fiabilité et, par extension, de celle du régime juridique de la sécurité maritime tout entier (en vue d'une mise en oeuvre plus efficiente des règles y afférentes), que l'on se propose d'étudier. Pour ce faire, l'on procède à partir de ce que l'on peut convenir de considérer comme étant la dualité fondamentale du concept de sécurité maritime (« maritime safety »), renvoyant, d'une part, à la sécurité des navires (« ship safety ») et, d'autre part, à la sécurité de leur exploitation et des opérations de transport (« shipping safety »). Dans l'étude de la sécurité des navires, il sera d'abord question des règles portant sur la conception, la construction, l'entretien et la répélration de ces derniers. Après un bref aperçu du cadre d'élaboration de ces règles -lui-même sans assises sûres - et de leur contenu, une analyse des acteurs chargés de leur application lors de chacune desdites opérations fera ressortir les nombreuses failles en la matière. L'on s'attardera, en second lieu, aux divers contrôles conditionnant cette sécurité, et en l'occurrence au régime de certification, d'inspections et de sanctions présent dans le domaine. L'imperfection de ce régime transparaîtra notamment de la prolifération de ces contrôles. Traditionnellement réservés aux sociétés de classification et aux États du pavillon (à la lumière du droit international), ceux-ci, jugés défaillants, en sont venus à être également exercés par les États du port et une demi-dizaine d'acteurs individuels. Il sera, donc, question de la nature et l'étendue de ces contrôles et des initiatives et développements propres à chacun. S'agissant, cette fois, de l'exploitation des navires, il sera question de la sécurité autant dans la gestion corporative maritime qu'en matière d'équipage des navires. S'agissant de gestion corporative, après une analyse de l'organisation du métier et des fonctions d'armateur, l'on s'attardera sur les pratiques mêmes de gestion au sein de l'industrie et les tentatives de régulation et d'assainissement de ces dernières (au niveau international). La sécurité en matière d'équipage, renverra, quant à elle, à la compétence de celui-ci et à ses conditions de travail - qu'elles aient trait aux rapports individuels ou collectifs - ainsi qu'aux initiatives d'amélioration de ces dernières présentes, ici aussi, au niveau international. Un bref aperçu de la controverse entourant la responsabilité du capitaine du navire suite à des accidents en mer s'ensuivra. Il sera, enfin, question des (principales) opérations de transport maritime, en l'occurrence les opérations portuaires et de navigation, mais aussi la 'fin' de ces opérations et la pratique dite du recyclage des navires. Pour ce qui est des opérations portuaires, des failles dans la sécurité transparaîtront autant au niveau des infrastructures, des services que du personnel des ports. Pour ce qui est des opérations de navigation, l'on traitera d'abord des développements affectant la sécurité dans la navigation en eaux intérieures, s'agissant des diverses aides à la navigation et services de trafic maritimes offerts par les autorités côtières, ainsi que des carences du système international de navigation en haute mer. Il sera, enfin, question de la pratique du recyclage des navires où des initiatives de la part de l'industrie ont récemment vu le jour en matière de sécurité suite à une conscientisation accrue des implications que cette pratique pouvait comporter en la matière (particulièrement du point de vue environnemental). Cette recherche est à jour en date du 30 août 2002. / Although supposedly improving, the present state of maritime safety is not as enviable as the statistics on the subject might show. A series of accidents culminating in the sinking of the Erika near the french coast on december 1999 prove that many failings persist, particularly in its legal regime. These failings essentiaIly have to do with the deficient application of the existing rules and even their avoidance by the actors involved in this field. The above-mentioned sinking showed that this deficiency and avoidance is not to be associated with a few isolated actors, traditionaIly identified as being responsible for all the problems in maritime transportation, be it 'irresponsible' shipowners or Flag States 'of convenience', but that it is to be found throughout the entire chain of actors involved in the application of the nonns relating to maritime safety. In fact, all of these actors were found to bear sorne degree of responsibility or blame for the events leading up to the Erika tragedy; from the shipbuidmg or shiprepair yards all the way up to the various port State administrations which inspected and/or detained the ship, including the ship's owners, managers, bankers, insurers, classification societies, Flag State, charterer, captain and crew, to name a few. Therefore, the Erika matter revealed the existence - and true extent - of what has come to be known as the "chain ofresponsibility" in maritime safety. It is this chain of actors and the various measures (legal and other) that have been taken to ensure its improvement and, by definition, the improvement of the legal regime of maritime safety as a whole - in view of a better application of nonns - that we attempt to analyze. In this respect, we proceed from what can be identified as the fundamental duality of the concept of maritime safety, namely ship safety and shipping safety. In analyzing ship safety we first refer to the rules having to do with the design construction, maintenance and repair of ships. Following a brief overview of the context in which these rules are drafted - itself fraught with uncertainties - and their content, a study of the actors involved in their application during each of these operations reveals the failings in this field. We then analyze the various types of controls existing in view of ensuring that this safety is maintained and in particular the certification, inspection and sanctions regime. The defects in this regime emanate from the proliferation of these diverse controls. Traditionally reserved to classification societies and flag states (as prescribed by international law), these controls are now as weIl being exercised by various port states and about half a dozen individual actors. The nature and extent of these controls is therefore analyzed as well as the various initiatives and developments relating to each. As for shipping safety, this has to do as much with the various conditions of operation of a ship as with the transport operations themselves. The conditions of operation of a ship essentially refer to the safety of its management as well as that relating to the crew. Regarding safety of management, following an overview of the nature and present-day functions of the shipowner, we study the various management practices through the industry as weIl as the recent attempts (at the international level) to regulate and improve these. As for safety matters relating to crew, these refer as much to the crew' s competence as to their working conditions aboard the ship - that they refer to their individual or collective rights - including the efforts - in the international scene as well - to regulate and improve these. A brief overview of the responsibility of the ship' s captain in the event of an accident at sea follows. The (main) transportation operations, name1y port and navigational operations as well as the regime prevailing when these 'end', namely the practice of ship recyc1ing, are, finally, analyzed. Regarrding port operations, deficiencies in safety emanate as much through port infrastructures, services as well as personnel. As for navigational operations, we first analyze the various developments relating to safety in national waters, namely navigational aids as well as vessel traffic services offered by coastal States, and then explore the failings of the international navigational system in the high seas. We finaIly, refer to the practice of ship recyc1ing where initiatives have recently been taken by the industry to improve safety matters foIlowing a better awareness of the potential implications of the practice as relates to safety (and in particular environmental) matters. This research is current as of August 30th, 2002. / "Mémoire présenté à la faculté des études supérieures en vue de l'obtention du grade de maître en droit (LL.M.)". Ce mémoire a été accepté à l'unanimité et classé parmi les 15% des mémoires de la discipline.

In the decade from 1998 to 2008, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was witness to one of the most brutal violent conflicts in recent history. Crimes against humanity and large-scale violations of human rights occurred on a regular basis, resulting in the death and displacement of millions of people. The international community responded to this crisis with humanitarian efforts such as the donation of billions of dollars in aid and engagement in diplomatic mediations. However, despite the increasing viability of humanitarian intervention as a policy option for international actors, as well as the ‘groundbreaking’ formal adoption of the Responsibility to Protect at the 2005 United Nations World Summit, no intervention was undertaken. This produces a puzzle: why, despite acknowledgement of the severity of the crisis, did the international community respond with humanitarianism, but stop short of intervening? The answer can be found in an examination of the international normative environment at the time of the conflict. Using a three-stage normative life-cycle model developed by Martha Finnemore and Kathryn Sikkink, this thesis posits that the reason the international community engaged in humanitarian actions was because the norm of humanitarianism is at stage 2 of its life cycle, making it well-entrenched enough to compel members of the international community to act. However, the norm of humanitarian intervention is only at stage 1 of its life cycle, meaning that it is weak and underdeveloped. Its weakness is exacerbated by the fact that humanitarian intervention often clashes with the highly entrenched stage 3 norms of realpolitik, and specifically the norm of self-interested engagement, which demands that a state only become engaged with another if it is in the first state’s interests to do so. Thus, despite the brutality of the conflict, the norm of humanitarian intervention was not strong enough to provoke an intervention in the Democratic Republic of Congo. / Thesis (Master, Political Studies) -- Queen's University, 2009-09-18 02:05:57.536

<p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> <p align="left">The Social Capital approach to development is based on the premise that both cognitive and structural aspects of a given society determine the level of development performance. It is argued that norms of trust and reciprocity, networks, and mutual aid govern interaction among people, hold them together, facilitate opportunities to manage common property and pursue common goals, and ultimately contribute to development by facilitating their cooperation and collective action. In this thesis I explore the relationship between social capital and development by analysing the performance of household wellbeing in a given community. Two dominant views on social capital and the outcomes of development performance are currently in prominence in the development discourse. This debate centres on whether social capital is a sufficient cause on its own or whether it needs intermediary actors. The social capital theory argues that the development performance of a particular community can be explained directly by the prevailing level of social capital, and that the underlying levels of trust, social norms and networks are sufficient to explain development. On the other hand, the school of thought that supports the need for intermediary actors argues that social capital is unable to influence development performance at higher levels. If a larger impact and a more precise outcome are expected, intermediary actors who facilitate interest formation, aggregation and representation are necessary. Without them, social capital remains largely inactive and dormant. In exploring the possible link between the two variables, this thesis supports the second premises, introducing the notion of intermediary actors that might activate the stock of social capital and its performance on household wellbeing. The need to explore the relationship between the two variables demanded empirical research. The research was conducted in the rural villages of Oromia regional State of Ethiopia. Based on the empirical evidence, the relationship between the stock of social capital and performance in household wellbeing is generally positive. A large stock of social capital is generally accompanied by a higher level of performance in household wellbeing. However, I argue that social capital is only truly social when activated by an intermediary development actor. Failing this, though it contributes significantly to village solidarity and unity, social capital remains inactive and dormant. Therefore, the general conclusion of this thesis is that social capital matters, but its utilisation by intermediary agencies matters more.</p> </font></font></p>