Children are vulnerable and need protection from harm. Children is often only perceived from this view and not recognised that they have agency to participate in matters that concern them which is also their right. Poverty and environmental risks restrict children’s ‘aspirations and hopefulness’ to ‘creat[e] a more prosperous future’ (SAHR & UNICEF, 2014:7). Children have the right to participate in matters that concern their best interest (Hall, Richter, Mokomane & Lake, 2018:47). The goal of this study was to explore and describe how children’s agency is recognised and respected in programmes aimed at reducing poverty and environmental risks in Islamic Relief South Africa’s Orphan Sponsorship programme A qualitative research approach was adopted for the study. The research design was an instrumental case study and data was collected by means of one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Purposeful sampling was used to select five key informants and five child participants from Islamic Relief South Africa’s Orphan Sponsorship programme. Data was analysed through theme analysis. The findings of the study indicated that child participation is generally restricted to the planning and implementation phases of the programme which is related to how key informants perceive the child concept. Furthermore, to mitigate child poverty and environmental risks, the programme assists children with school fees, transport money, food, clothes and clean water. Furthermore, the children engage in cleaning campaigns and are educated on how to stop pollution. The study concludes that children’s agency is recognised and respected by hearing their views, but excluded from decisions about matters that affect them. The study recommends child consultation and participation from the conception phase of the programme throughout the implementation and evaluation phases of the programme, and continuous training of caregivers on child agency and children’s right to participation. / Mini Dissertation (MSW (Social Development and Policy))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Social Work and Criminology / MSW (Social Development and Policy) / Unrestricted

No description available.

This study examined the associations between behavioral inhibition in early childhood and patterns of social-emotional functioning in adolescence. As part of a larger longitudinal study on temperament and social development, adolescents who were recruited as infants completed two tasks to assess social-cognitive biases at follow-up: an information-processing task and an autobiographical memory task. The information-processing task assessed adolescents? interpretations of ambiguous situations. Next, adolescents completed an autobiographical memory task where they were exposed to both social and neutral-cued words, and recalled the first memory that came to mind. Memories were coded for specificity, affective tone, response latency, and emotional intensity. Afterwards, adolescents were also presented with a word recall task. In addition, shyness and socially anxious behaviors were observed as adolescents participated in a self-presentation speech task with an unfamiliar peer. Behavioral inhibition at age two was found to predict higher levels of observed anxious behaviors (self-presentation anxiety) during the peer interaction. This relation appears to be mediated by a pattern of blunted affect in response to socially-cued autobiographical memories. While the relation between temperament ratings of early behavioral inhibition and the blunted memory affect was content-specific to social-cued words, current self-presentation anxiety during the peer interaction was related to a more generalized bias that was not content-specific. In addition to the blunted memory affect, adolescent self-presentation anxiety was associated with less affective interpretations on the story task, poorer word recall, slowed response times, decreased emotional intensity.

No description available.

Bibliography: leaves 86-90. / Involuntary resettlement due to planned economic interventions for the purpose of economic growth, is a political and socio-economic phenomenon. It is associated with development and poverty, as it affects livelihoods of those involved. This process impacts differently on different individuals, depending on their capability to regain earning and productive bases, to access support systems, as well as to access opportunities and widen choices that sustain their lives. The study investigates the assumption that their vulnerability, ineligibility for compensation provisions and lack of specific programmes to address their needs affect their capability to adjust in new areas. In view of this, the purpose of the study is to explore the impact of resettlement on vulnerable groups (the landless, unemployable aged and disabled). The overall objective is to highlight their situation, because of a concern for their long-term welfare, possible marginalisation from mainstream development and risk of poverty. The coverage involved vulnerable groups in stage one resettlement. A stratified sampling technique was employed to select 31 respondents who represent these groups. In the study, primary and secondary data were collected by making use of In-depth interviews, focus-group discussions and content analysis of related literature. A semi-structured schedule with open-ended questions was employed to gather information that was qualitatively manipulated. The findings suggest that the resettlement process has resulted in the disruption of support systems, limited opportunities in host areas, and inadequate restorative measures to sustain livelihoods of vulnerable groups. As a result, these groups are disempowered, marginalised and excluded from mainstream social and economic development, which compounds their risk of impoverishment.

In 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted by state nations globally to eradicate poverty in all its forms, combat inequality, preserve the planet, create sustainable economic growth and foster social inclusion (United Nations [UN], 2015:5). Poor and marginalised societies, the key focus of social work, are more severely affected by environmental degradation and climate change (IFSW, 2015). Provided their ethical mandate to address a social injustice, social workers are compelled to respond to environmental injustices (Erickson, 2012:184). Sustainable development is intrinsically connected to environmental and social justice. The goal of the study was to explore and describe the role of social workers in promoting environmental justice for sustainable communities from an NGO perspective in the City of Tshwane. The study employed a qualitative research approach. The research goals were both explorative and descriptive. The research design was an instrumental case study and data were collected through semi-structured one-on-one interviews. Purposive sampling was used to select 10 participants from various non-governmental organisations within the City of Tshwane. A thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data. The findings revealed that social workers realise the link between sustainability and environmental justice although they are not currently intentionally involved in efforts to mitigate environmental injustices. Social workers lack the knowledge base on green social work that will enable them to adopt a green social work model for practice where both people and planet are important for sustainable interventions. The study concludes that social workers are significant in engaging communities in environmental justice projects promoting sustainable communities. Traditional social work roles should be adapted to fit the green social work narrative and promote environmental justice more intentionally. The study recommends increasing the awareness of green social work amongst social workers and also making more training available for social workers to familiarise themselves with an ecological approach and green social work as a practice model. / Mini Dissertation (MSW (Social Development and Policy))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Social Work and Criminology / MSW (Social Development and Policy) / Unrestricted

In 2015, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted by nations across the globe to eradicate poverty in all its forms, combat inequality, preserve the planet, create sustainable economic growth and foster social inclusion (United Nations [UN], 2015:5). Social workers are compelled to act on environmental injustices because of their ethical mandate to address social injustices (Erickson, 2012:184). This study adopted green social work (Dominelli,2012) as a theoretical framework. The goal of the study was to explore and describe the role of social workers in promoting environmental justice for sustainable communities from a government perspective in the City of Ekurhuleni. The study adopted a qualitative research approach, which had an exploratory and descriptive purpose (Fouché & De Vos, 2011). The case study design was an instrumental case study. The study sample was purposively selected and composed of ten social workers from three units of the Department of Social Development in the City of Ekurhuleni. Data was collected through one-on-one semi-structured interviews using an interview schedule. Data was analysed by using Creswell’s (2014) theme approach. The findings of the study indicated that participants are aware of the environmental injustices in the City of Ekurhuleni. Furthermore, although participants understand the effects of these injustices on the lives of the poor, they believe they have little to offer to promote environmental justice. This is due to the specialised nature of the service delivery units of the Department of Social Development (DSD). The study concluded that participants need knowledge and skills in green social work. Furthermore, collaboration with relevant stakeholders and community engagement is essential in promoting environmental justice to contribute to sustainable communities. The study recommends that the DSD adopts green social work as a practice model and that all the service delivery units of the DSD integrate an environmental justice focus. Furthermore, social workers in the DSD should be trained in the knowledge of and skills in green social work and how it relates to developmental social work and sustainable development. / Mini Dissertation(MSW (Social development and policy))--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Social Work and Criminology / MSW (Social development and policy) / Unrestricted

The Chinese community is the fastest growing non-European ethnic group in the UK, with 11.2% annual growth between 2001 and 2007. According to the National Statistics office (2005), there are over a quarter of a million Chinese in Britain. Compared to other ethnic minority groups, the Chinese group is socio-economically widespread, characterized by high academic achievements and high household income. It is estimated that there are about 30,000 Chinese immigrant children studying in British schools, 75% of who were born in the UK. These children face a complex process of establishing their social identity, maintaining their own cultural roots whilst adapting to the British cultural contexts. The predominant psychological interpretation of social identity formation is founded on Social Identity Theory (Tajfel, 1978). Social identity creates and defines an individual’s place in society. One of the key features in social identity theory is ingroup favouritism and out-group derogation (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). The function and motivation for in-group and out-group attitude construction is to promoting a positive self-concept and related self-esteem. Theoretical approaches to understanding social identity that take a developmental perspective are Cognitive Development Theory (CDT) (Aboud, 1988, 2008) and Social Identity Developmental Theory (SIDT) (Nesdale, 2004, 2008). These theories attempt to explain the age related development in children’s inter- and intra-group attitudes. There are different types of social identities, and ethnic identity as well as national identity are the central focus of the current research. Some researchers have pointed out that ethnic identity is relevant to self-esteem and it is particularly important to children from ethnic minority backgrounds (Phinney, 1992). However, the research on social identity is predominantly conducted in Western contexts and there is lack of evidence supporting the generalization of developmental models of social identity in children to all ethnic groups and particularly those growing up in different cultures and national contexts. The research reported in this thesis is a cross cultural and developmental study which compares social identity in relation to self-esteem among British born Chinese (BBC), white British, Hong Kong Chinese and Mainland Chinese children. The overarching aim is to explore the influence of social context and ethnic culture on social identity development and self-esteem. Three research studies were conducted in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Scotland with 464 children across three age groups, age 8, 11 and 14 years (148 children from Mainland China, 155 Hong Kong Chinese children, 70 British born Chinese children, and 91 Scottish children). In addition, 46 parents of BBC children were surveyed to investigate their cultural orientation. The first study was designed to explore cultural similarities and differences in social identity and its relation to self-esteem across four groups of children in three age groups. Social identity (self-description questionnaire) and self-esteem (Harter’s Self-esteem questionnaire) were measured with all four groups of children. The result revealed significant differences of social identity across the groups. Four cultural groups of children think individual self was the most common form of identity. All the Chinese groups emphasized show more collective self than white Scottish children whereas the white Scottish sample of children placed more focused on individual identity. All four groups of children had high self-esteem, and no correlation was evident between social identity and self-esteem. Furthermore, analysis found no significant developmental change in social identity or self-esteem with age. The second study focused on BBC and white Scottish children: these share national context, but differ in ethnic identity. The study was designed to explore children’s national self-categorisation, the degree of national/ethnic identification (Chinese, Scottish, or both), and their perception of the positive and negative traits of Chinese and Scottish people across the age (using a Trait Attribution Task). BBC children’s sense of national identity varied in different national contexts, whereas white Scottish children were more fixed in their sense of national identity. Furthermore, BBC children attributed more positive traits to Chinese than to Scottish people, and white Scottish children attributed more positive traits to Scottish than to Chinese. BBC and white Scottish children evaluated both Chinese and Scottish groups positively, but they both attributed more positive traits to in-groups than out-groups. Some age-related differences were identified for degree of national identification. The third study introduced a novel social identity vignettes task to examine BBC and white Scottish children’s perceptions of ethnic identity of a Chinese character within two contrasting socio-cultural contexts (Scottish versus Chinese). This study addresses the question of whether children’s social identifications are adaptive and sensitive to social context, and how this contextual sensitivity might change with age. It also explored the link between parents’ attitudes towards their children’s cultural orientation and children’s national/ethnic identity in identity vignettes. The study revealed that both BBC and Scottish children judged the vignette characters as having a stronger Chinese identity or Scottish identity according to whether they were described in a Chinese or Scottish vignette. This cultural sensitivity increased with age. Both groups had a positive evaluation of the vignette characters’ self-esteem in both Chinese and Scottish cultural situations. Parental cultural orientation attitudes (using General Ethnicity Questionnaire) towards their children were also examined and differences of language proficiency among BBC children were identified. There is no connection between children’s strength of Chinese and Scottish identification and parents’ strength of cultural orientation towards Chinese or Scottish. Together, the findings presented in this thesis extend our understanding of social identity development, ethnic and national attitudes and the developmental intergroup attitudes among children from different national and ethnic groups. Furthermore, findings indicate that social identity is a complex and dynamic process in children’s development that cannot be understood without considering national and specific socio-cultural contexts as frames of reference. The findings of this research have important implications for child-related policy and practice and for future research on social identity development.

The manor of Epworth in the Isle of Axholme experienced protracted resistance to drainage and enclosure schemes in the seventeenth century. The thesis places the disputes in the context of the wider social and economic development of the manor during the period, while also comparing the experiences of the manor's member parishes. The history of the drainage is outlined in the introduction. Chapter one surveys the economy and demographic history of the manor, concluding that the wealth of local resources and flexible agrarian system protected the manor from subsistence crises. In chapter two, wills, church court records and parish registers are used to investigate marriage and the role of family, neighbours and kin in forming and sustaining households. The third chapter makes use of wills to examine inheritance strategies as a means of providing for the perpetuation of viable households. Inheritance patterns varied with wealth and proved an important mechanism for social mobility in the manor. Chapter four shows how the flexibility of the manor's economy and inheritance strategies allowed social mobility, resulting in growing social differentiation and some differences between parishes. The fifth chapter explores the religious history of the manor via the church court records, noting the different experiences and reactions to religious change in each parish and revealing something of the unity or divisions among their leading groups. Chapter six details the course of the drainage disputes in the context of changing patterns of social relations within the manor. The conclusion discusses the concentric, intersecting and overlapping communities of the manor, within which the drainage disputes produced their own shifting alliances and loyalties, impinging on other solidarities and cleavages and contributing to the diverging experiences of the manor during the century.

This thesis examines Theory of Mind (ToM) in relation to the areas of language and cognitive development. The thesis explores both popular and alternate theories of ToM and how they account for the important relationships between language and theory of mind. It examines the theories in the context of published ToM findings as well as the findings from three studies conducted by the author. The first study took the form of a pilot study which re-analysed data, collected for the author's honours project, from a small group of children with (n = 10) and without autism (n = 10). In each diagnostic group (autism and no autism) children were divided into two groups, those passing a ToM task and those failing a ToM task. The aim of the study was to investigate whether the underlying language and cognitive skills required to succeed on ToM tasks are the same for children with and without autism. The key finding of the study was that for both the children with and without autism, those who passed the ToM task performed better on all the developmental measures, although only the difference in language ability was statistically significant. The second study expanded on the pilot study, examining the relationship in typically developing 4 and 6-year-old children, between ToM, language, cognitive development, and subtractive reasoning. The study's aim was to examine the developmental structure underlying ToM using factor analysis. The results indicated that for 4-year-old children the most important skill for ToM success was language, but that for 6-year-old children ToM success was more strongly related to subtractive reasoning ability. The findings of the study also raised the question of whether presentation method for ToM tasks impacted on task difficulty. A final study therefore examined the effect of presentation mode 2-dimensional versus 3-dimensional, on the success of typically developing 4-year-old children on the ToM task battery. The findings indicated that tasks presented in cartoon format were more difficult than tasks presented with dolls and props. Reliability and validity of common ToM tasks and new ToM test batteries are discussed. Alternative conceptions of ToM in relation to social interaction are considered. / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Psychology, 2010