Introduction. In 2006, a Peruvian environmental agency reported the presence of elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) in indigenous communities of the Corrientes river basin. This is a territory in the Peruvian Amazon where oil activity has been associated with serious environmental effects, with impact on an ongoing social conflict. This PhD project aimed to determine the lead sources, risk factors and pathways in children of these communities and to suggest control and prevention strategies. Given the arguments attributing the lead source to the oil activity pollution, the second objective was to clarify any potential connection between the two. This project was conducted by a collaborative research partnership with the regional health authorities and the community-based organization. The third objective was to characterize the challenges, facilitating factors and the lessons learned from the research process. Methods. Two epidemiological studies were conducted. Study I (2009) was carried out in three communities and study II (2010) in six communities with different levels of exposure to oil activity. The participants were children 0–17 years old. Data collection included: determination of BLLs, hemoglobin levels and anthropometric indicators, a risk factor questionnaire, an environmental assessment and a risk map. Data analysis included univariate, bivariate and multivariate logistic regression. Data for the third objective came from field notes, documents, interviews and a process of collective reflection. Results. Study I (n= 221) found no significant difference in the geometric mean(GM) BLLs between the communities exposed and not exposed to oil activity. Older age and being a boy were found as risk factors for BLLs ≥ 10 μg/dL. In study II (n= 346), age stratified logistic regression models indicated that children 0–3 years whose mothers had BLLs ≥ 10 μg/dL, children 0–6 years who played with pieces of lead and children 7–17 years who fished 3 times or more per weekor chewed pieces of lead to manufacture fishing sinkers had a significant increased risk of having BLLs ≥ 10 μg/dL. Children who lived in communities near oil battery facilities also had a significant increased risk of having BLLs ≥ 10 μg/dL. In both studies, environmental samples showed lead concentrations below reference levels. The challenges and facilitating factors identified focused on five interrelated themes: i) mutual trust, ii) multiple agendas, iii) equal participation, iv) competing research paradigms and v) complex and unexpected findings. Conclusions. Metal lead appeared to be the main source of exposure. Playing with pieces of lead and chewing pieces of lead to construct fishing sinkers appeared to be pathways of exposure for children aged 0–6 years and 7–17 years, respectively. Mothers’ BLLs > 10 μg/dL was a risk factor for BLLs > 10 μg/dL in children aged 0–3 years. Living in a community with high exposure to oil activity was a risk factor for BLLs > 10 μg/dL. The identified connection with oil activity was the proximity of communities to oil battery facilities and thus greater access to lead from cables and other industrial waste. Despite the numerous challenges, participatory research appears to be the most appropriate approach for this type of context. The study findings led us to recommend:i) a comprehensive community-based lead control and prevention plan,ii) the introduction of substitute non-harmful material(s) for fishing sinkers and iii) secure containment of the oil company’s waste deposits. / Introducción. En el 2006, una agencia ambiental del Perú informó de la presenciade niveles elevados de plomo sanguíneo en las comunidades indígenas dela cuenca del río Corrientes. Este es un territorio en la Amazonía peruana, dondela actividad petrolera ha sido asociada con graves efectos ambientales, originandoun continuo conflicto social.Este proyecto de tesis doctoral tuvo como objetivo determinar las fuentes, factoresde riesgo y vías de exposición de plomo en niños de estas comunidades paraproponer estrategias de control y prevención. Teniendo en cuenta previos argumentosque relacionaban la exposición de plomo con la contaminación por laactividad petrolera, el segundo objetivo fue esclarecer cualquier conexión entreambos. Este proyecto se condujo con la participación de miembros de la DirecciónRegional de Salud de Loreto (DIRESA Loreto) y de la organización indígenaFECONACO. El tercer objetivo fue caracterizar los desafíos, las oportunidades ylos aprendizajes del proceso participativo.Métodos. Se condujeron dos estudios epidemiológicos. El estudio I (2009) sedesarrolló en tres comunidades y el estudio II (2010) en seis comunidades condiferentes niveles de exposición a la actividad petrolera. Los participantesfueron niños de 0–17 años. La recolección de datos incluyó: determinación deplomo sanguíneo, de niveles de hemoglobina y de indicadores antropométricos,un cuestionario de factores de riesgo, una evaluación ambiental y un mapa deriesgo. El análisis de datos incluyó análisis univariado, bivariado y multivariadode regresión logística. Para el tercer objetivo, los datos provinieron de notas decampo, documentos oficiales, entrevistas informales y un proceso de reflexióncolectiva.Resultados. En el estudio I (n = 221) no se encontró diferencia estadísticamentesignificativa entre las medias geométricas de los niveles de plomo sanguíneo delas comunidades expuestas y no expuestas a la actividad petrolera. Los niños degénero masculino y los del grupo etario de mayor edad tuvieron un riesgo significativamentemayor a presentar niveles de plomo sanguíneo > 10 μg/dL. Enel estudio II (n = 346), los modelos estratificados por edad indicaron que losniños de 0–3 años cuyas madres tenían niveles de plomo > 10 μg/dL, los niñosde 0–6 años que jugaban con piezas de plomo y los niños de 7–17 años que pescaban3 veces o más por semana o masticaban piezas de plomo para fabricarpesas de pescar tenían un riesgo significativamente mayor de presentar nivelesde plomo sanguíneo > 10 μg/dL. Los niños que vivían en comunidades cercanasa las baterías de petróleo también tuvieron un riesgo significativamente mayora presentar plomo sanguíneo > 10 μg/dL. Las muestras ambientales en ambosestudios mostraron concentraciones de plomo por debajo de los niveles de referencia.En cuanto al proceso de investigación, los desafíos y oportunidades másimportantes se centraron en cinco temas interrelacionados: i) la confianza mutua,ii) múltiples agendas, iii) participación equitativa, iv) competencia de paradigmasen la investigación y v) diseminación de resultados complejos e inesperados.Conclusiones. La fuente de exposición principal sería el plomo metálico. Jugarcon piezas de piezas de plomo y masticar piezas de plomo para la construcciónde pesas de pescar serían vías de exposición para los niños de 0–6 años y 7–17años, respectivamente. Niveles de plomo sanguíneo > 10 μg/dL en las madressería un factor de riesgo para presentar niveles de plomo sanguíneo > 10 μg/dLen niños de 0–3 años. Vivir en una comunidad con alta exposición a la actividadpetrolera sería también un factor de riesgo para presentar niveles de plomo sanguíneo> 10 μg/dL. La conexión con la actividad petrolera parece estar en laproximidad de las comunidades a las baterías del petróleo y por ende, el mayoracceso al plomo proveniente de cables y otros residuos industriales.A pesar de los varios desafíos, la investigación participativa parece ser el enfoquemás apropiado para este tipo de contextos. Los hallazgos nos llevaron a recomendar:i) un programa comunitario de control y prevención de plomo, ii) laintroducción de pesas de pescar de materiales seguros, alternativos al plomo yiii) el control de la disposición de residuos de la actividad petrolera.

Implementing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in a developing country can improve spatial planning and decision-making. Utilizing a Participatory GIS framework of maximizing community empowerment and limiting marginalization, this thesis research explores the barriers associated with implementing GIS in Dangriga, Belize and how to overcome those barriers. The research included the identification of local needs that could benefit from the use of GIS, the collection of local data through group and individual data collections, and the utilization of locally collected data to conduct GIS training sessions. It was learned that Dangriga faces many barriers found in other developing countries: institutional inertia, resource and technical availabilities, and a lack of trained personnel. Through the collection of local data and training sessions utilizing the data, the barriers of implementing GIS in Dangriga can be minimized.

The overall purpose of this research was to investigate barriers to and opportunities for adaptive co-management of artisanal fisheries in coastal Uruguay, with comparisons to Paraty (Southeastern Brazil). Following a qualitative approach, two case studies were developed; one in the Piriápolis area (Río de la Plata coast) and one in Praia Grande/Ilha do Araújo (Rio de Janeiro State), the former with more depth than the latter. Findings indicate that, first, artisanal fisheries have been under a social-ecological crisis (e.g. catches have been declining; fishing effort has increased; relationships among fishers have been eroded), opening windows of opportunity for alternative management. Second, a multilevel social capital analysis conducted by studying the relationships embedded in the bonding, bridging, and linking networks among fishery stakeholders (artisanal fishers, fish buyers, unions, universities, NGOs, government agencies) enabled the identification of more barriers than opportunities for co-management. For example, fishers are only weakly organized, and these bonding connections at the local level were undermined by conflict-laden linking relationships. Third, fishers from the two sites stated that they would like to be involved in resource management, and the proposed fisheries law in Uruguay (before the Parliament) would be an enabling policy for a consultative degree of participation, through the creation of national and zonal councils. Nevertheless, the negative impact that external agents have had on fishing communities are among the causes of low fisher participation. Fourth, findings from a participatory research initiative involving fishery stakeholders in Piriápolis (creating a multi-stakeholder body, POPA) showed that this approach can help overcome some of the barriers to co-management. These barriers include conflict-ridden relationships between fishers and the fisheries agency; stakeholders’ lack of capacity; and weak fisher organization. Moreover, the case showed that participatory research can pave the way for adaptive co-management by injecting a dynamic learning element into the early stages of the collaborative process. These findings, as well as the multilevel conception of social capital, represent contributions to adaptive co-management theory. The thesis identified contributions to policy based on the barriers and opportunities found for this transition, and suggested areas for further research.

Background: Promoting mental health for Indigenous youth in Canada is a well-documented priority. Indigenous approaches to health promotion share similarities with the holistic process in outdoor adventure and experiential education contexts. The purpose of this study was to develop, implement, and evaluate an Outdoor Adventure Leadership Experience (OALE) for Indigenous adolescents from one First Nations community in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. Methods: Principles of community-based participatory research were used to guide this mixed method study that included three phases. Phase 1 involved the development of a culturally relevant OALE intervention. The intervention was available to adolescents, aged 12-18 years, living in Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve. Phase 2 consisted of a quantitative evaluation of the effectiveness of the OALE, based on participant self-report. It focused primarily on assessing resilience using the 14-Item Resilience Scale (RS-14). Using an ethnographic approach, Phase 3 comprised a qualitative evaluation of the ways in which the OALE promoted resilience and well-being. Results: Phase 1 occurred over a period of 10 months (September 2008 to June 2009), and it resulted in the development of an intentionally designed 10-day OALE program. The program was implemented in the summer of 2009 and 2010 with 73 adolescent participants, aged 12-18 years. Results from Phase 2 revealed that there was a 3.40 point increase in mean resilience for the adolescent participants at one month post-OALE compared to one day pre-OALE (n=46, p=.011), but the improvement was not sustained one year later. Phase 3 results revealed that the OALE facilitated the development of resilience and well-being by helping the adolescents connect to Anishinaabe Bimaadziwin, an Ojibway concept that can be translated as the Good iv Life. Connecting involved an external experiential process of connecting with various aspects of creation and an internal reflective process of connecting within to different aspects of self. Conclusion: The OALE appears to be a program that helped the adolescents: (1) become more resilient in the short-term, and (2) become more aware of Anishinaabe Bimaadziwin (the Good Life) by providing opportunities for connecting with creation and self through a variety of experiences and reflections that were unique for each youth.

This thesis documents research undertaken to understand the experience of families who have lived with domestic violence, substance misuse and subsequent child protection intervention. Initially a participatory methodology was adopted, which presented significant challenges. This thesis presents a critical reflection of using the participatory methodology with vulnerable and stigmatized families and the divergence that this research experienced from participatory ideals when operationalized in a real-world setting. A range of methods have been employed to capture these experiences through a series of ‘polyvocal’ stories that not only provide authentic research findings, but also gave participants the chance to speak collectively about issues that concern them. This is an opportunity rarely afforded to families involved in child protection. Specific issues raised include the difficulty of inhabiting dual status as victim or perpetrator of domestic violence and a parent, the complexity of assessing structural injustice as opposed to agency responsibility when researching traumatic events and how services responses of ‘kinship care’ arrangements have substantial flaws. The study also generated new insight into the experiences of men as fathers and how ‘risk’ is assumed to be cross-contextual. No easy solutions are proposed, but the participatory principles employed demonstrate the need to embrace a high level of reflexivity to address the challenges of power sharing with vulnerable people. The identity barriers to transformational relationships of families involved in child protection services also need to be reviewed. Only then will safe and ethical research and social work practice become possible.

abstract: Sustainability visioning (i.e. the construction of sustainable future states) is considered an important component of sustainability research, for instance, in transformational sustainability science or in planning for urban sustainability. Visioning frees sustainability research from the dominant focus on analyzing problem constellations and opens it towards positive contributions to social innovation and transformation. Calls are repeatedly made for visions that can guide us towards sustainable futures. Scattered across a broad range of fields (i.e. business, non-government organization, land-use management, natural resource management, sustainability science, urban and regional planning) are an abundance of visioning studies. However, among the few evaluative studies in the literature there are apparent deficits in both the research and practice of visioning that curtails our expectations and prospects of realizing process-based and product-derived outcomes. These deficits suggests that calls instead should focus on the development of applied and theoretical understanding of crafting sustainability visions, enhancing the rigor and robustness of visioning methodology, and on integrating practice, research, and education for collaborative sustainability visioning. From an analysis of prominent visioning and sustainability visioning studies in the literature, this dissertation articulates what is sustainability visioning and synthesizes a conceptual framework for criteria-based design and evaluation of sustainability visioning studies. While current visioning methodologies comply with some of these guidelines, none adhere to all of them. From this research, a novel sustainability visioning methodology is designed to address this gap to craft visions that are shared, systemic, principles-based, action-oriented, relevant, and creative (i.e. SPARC visioning methodology) and evaluated across all quality criteria. Empirical studies were conducted to test and apply the conceptual and methodological frameworks -- with an emphasis on enhancing the rigor and robustness in real world visioning processes for urban planning and teaching sustainability competencies. In-depth descriptions of the collaborative visioning studies demonstrate tangible outcomes for: (a) implementing the above sustainability visioning methodology, including evaluative procedures; (b) adopting meaningful interactive engagement procedures; (c) integrating advanced analytical modeling, sustainability appraisal, and creativity enhancing procedures; and (d) developing perspective and methodological capacity for long-range sustainability planning. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Sustainability 2013

Weight-gain and physical inactivity in pregnancy have important implications for First Nations and Métis women, populations that experience a disproportionate burden of poor health outcomes in pregnancy. Utilizing a postcolonial feminist theoretical lens in conjunction with a social determinants of health framework and tenets of cultural safety, the purpose of my doctoral research, which was written in the publishable paper format, was to address four questions: a) Are First Nations women marginalized through current physical activity pregnancy guidelines?; b) How do pregnant First Nations and Métis women understand weight-gain and physical activity during pregnancy?; c) What are the factors that influence excessive weight-gain during pregnancy in urban First Nations and Métis women?; and d) How can obesity prevention programs with pregnant First Nations and Métis women who live in urban centres be reflective of and sensitive to their cultural practices? To answer these questions, I conducted community-based qualitative research, which included 15 semi-structured interviews with key informants who are health/service providers for Aboriginal women in Ottawa and focus groups and semi-structured interviews with 25 pregnant/postpartum First Nations and Métis women. I also conducted two focus groups with both health/service providers and pregnant/postpartum women to determine what type of resource would benefit pregnant, urban First Nations and Métis women. Ultimately, I used this information to develop this resource. My research results revealed a complex interaction between the social determinants of health underlined by current manifestations of colonialism, which impact urban First Nations and Métis women’s physical activity and weight-gain during pregnancy. These findings emphasize the need for culturally safe physical activity and weight-gain resources for First Nations and Métis women during pregnancy. Ultimately, this study identified the importance of community consultation to develop culturally safe, community-driven, and useful health interventions for urban, pregnant First Nations and Métis women.

Many public health and social issues faced by society today are multifaceted and require joint and collaborative efforts through health promotion partnerships. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is one strategy that consists of engaging community stakeholders from various sectors to pool their expertise and resources in addressing health and social issues holistically. The literature indicates that the effectiveness of partnerships, such as those established within CBPR initiatives, is influenced by collaborative mechanisms that promote the creation of synergy among partners. There is, however, a lack of knowledge with regards to synergy and its key determinants in the context of health promotion partnerships. This qualitative thesis study is conducted as part of The EnRiCH Project, a CBPR initiative conducted in four communities across Canada, which aims at enhancing resilience and preparedness for disasters among high-risk populations. It explores the creation of synergy through the study of dynamics of collaboration shaping the EnRiCH-Québec City partnership and influencing its ability to leverage community resources for emergency preparedness. Emergent themes highlight that optimal collaboration in the EnRiCH-Québec City partnership is about having the “right people, in the right place, at the right time”. These findings provide evidence to inform community stakeholders, researchers and decision-makers on the dynamics of synergy creation and its implications for partnership growth and effectiveness.

Obesity is an increasing problem in the United States with 17% of youth currently classified as obese and an even higher prevalence of obesity among disadvantaged populations. The food environment may be contributing to these high rates as there has been a well documented association among increased away from home food consumption and excess adiposity, as well as evidence to support that children\'s diets are composed of a large portion of restaurant foods. The main purpose of this study is to describe the quality of restaurant food offered to children in a rural health disparate region. Two trained research assistants conducted systematic audits of all food outlets offering a children\'s menu in the Dan River region using the Children\'s Menu Assessment (CMA) tool. A composite score for each outlet for was calculated from the 29 scored items on the CMA. The total sample consisted of 137 outlets with CMA scores ranging from -4 to 9 with a mean score of 1.6+2.7. Scores were lowest in the predominantly Black block groups (0.2+0.4) when compared to the predominately White block groups (1.4+1.6) and Mixed block groups (2.6+2.4) with significantly lower scores in the predominantly Black block group than the Mixed block groups (F=4.3; p<0.05). The results of this study reveal a lack of few healthy food options available for children in this region. These findings have the potential to contribute to public health efforts in developing public policy changes or environmental interventions for the children\'s food environment in the Dan River Region. / Master of Science

This dissertation explores the impact of providing platforms for school learners to positively express themselves through multiple educational activities, in turn, developing a collective identity through performance. The existing school typologies in Mamelodi East, Pretoria, are found to hinder such explorative and all-round inclusive activities, resulting in the exclusion of many types of learners. Through a filter of music-making, the architecture of Tsako Thabo Secondary School in Mamelodi East has been assessed to have inadequate spaces and cause a disconnect with the community. Identified through literature, there is an opportunity to investigate the connection between music-making, participation and architecture as a way of transforming both the social and physical aspects of the school and surrounding community. The proposed intervention networks between existing nodes of music-making. With a focus on the node of Tsako Thabo Secondary School, an expressive architectural language is used to provide platforms for inclusive and adaptable educational and social activities. This language ripples out through the built fabric of the community and creates a sense of identity through the intersection of music and architecture. This dissertation uses participatory research in order to identify real world problems and social agents of change within the community. Furthering participation, codesign methods are used to influence the iterative design process to work beyond the single author limitations and remain contextually and socially relevant throughout. This was largely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, proving resilience and adaptability for the approach, relevant for current research methodologies. / Mini Dissertation (MArch (Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / This dissertation is a result of the investigation and the UkuDoba research methodology developed in the NRF project, STINT: Stitching the City (2020). This was a collaborative effort between the University of Pretoria and Chalmers University in Gothenberg, Sweden. / Architecture / MArch (Prof) / Unrestricted