This thesis develops and tests the new theory that beliefs in societal justice offer a distinctive self-regulatory benefit for members of socially disadvantaged groups. Integrating concepts from the social justice and goal motivation literatures I hypothesize that members of disadvantaged groups are more likely than members of advantaged social groups to calibrate their pursuit of long-term goals to their beliefs about societal justice. In Study 1, low but not high SES undergraduates showed greater intentions to persist in the face of poor exam performance to the extent that they believed in societal justice. In Study 2, low but not high SES participants reported more willingness to invest in career pursuits to the extent that they believed in societal justice. In Study 3, ethnic minority, but not ethnic majority, participants who read that societal justice was improving reported more willingness to invest resources in pursuit of long-term goals, relative to control participants. Study 4 replicated Study 3 using a more subtle manipulation of justice beliefs, and demonstrated that the moderating role of ethnic status operates due to a difference in the perceived self-relevance of societal justice. Study 5 examined the moderating role of SES and ethnic status in a large cross-national sample. Two additional studies indicated boundary conditions for the effect, showing that goals which are not perceived as relevant to justice operate in the opposite fashion: In Study 6, low SES participants primed with injustice withdrew their resources from their academic goals, and reinvested them in their social goals. Study 7 replicated this effect, and provided evidence that when the self-relevance of justice information is highlighted, it can influence motivation even among members of advantaged groups. Ethnic majority participants who read about discrimination against their group also withdrew their resources from their academic goals, and reinvested them in their social goals.

This thesis develops and tests the new theory that beliefs in societal justice offer a distinctive self-regulatory benefit for members of socially disadvantaged groups. Integrating concepts from the social justice and goal motivation literatures I hypothesize that members of disadvantaged groups are more likely than members of advantaged social groups to calibrate their pursuit of long-term goals to their beliefs about societal justice. In Study 1, low but not high SES undergraduates showed greater intentions to persist in the face of poor exam performance to the extent that they believed in societal justice. In Study 2, low but not high SES participants reported more willingness to invest in career pursuits to the extent that they believed in societal justice. In Study 3, ethnic minority, but not ethnic majority, participants who read that societal justice was improving reported more willingness to invest resources in pursuit of long-term goals, relative to control participants. Study 4 replicated Study 3 using a more subtle manipulation of justice beliefs, and demonstrated that the moderating role of ethnic status operates due to a difference in the perceived self-relevance of societal justice. Study 5 examined the moderating role of SES and ethnic status in a large cross-national sample. Two additional studies indicated boundary conditions for the effect, showing that goals which are not perceived as relevant to justice operate in the opposite fashion: In Study 6, low SES participants primed with injustice withdrew their resources from their academic goals, and reinvested them in their social goals. Study 7 replicated this effect, and provided evidence that when the self-relevance of justice information is highlighted, it can influence motivation even among members of advantaged groups. Ethnic majority participants who read about discrimination against their group also withdrew their resources from their academic goals, and reinvested them in their social goals.

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By 18 months children demonstrate a range of social-cognitive skills that reflect their emerging capacity to understand and engage in intentional relations with others. Intention understanding is a critical component of children’s social cognition at this age. Although individual differences in social cognition have been linked to neurocognitive maturation, socio-cultural models of development suggest that environmental influences operate in the development of intention understanding, with distal factors operating through proximal processes. In the current study of 501 children and their mothers, we tested and found support for a model in which an accumulation of distal environmental risks was associated with lower maternal responsivity, which was in turn associated with lower social-cognitive competency at 18 months. In addition, part of this effect operated through children’s concurrent language ability. Findings are discussed with respect to the Vygotskian themes of internalization and semiotic mediation.

By 18 months children demonstrate a range of social-cognitive skills that reflect their emerging capacity to understand and engage in intentional relations with others. Intention understanding is a critical component of children’s social cognition at this age. Although individual differences in social cognition have been linked to neurocognitive maturation, socio-cultural models of development suggest that environmental influences operate in the development of intention understanding, with distal factors operating through proximal processes. In the current study of 501 children and their mothers, we tested and found support for a model in which an accumulation of distal environmental risks was associated with lower maternal responsivity, which was in turn associated with lower social-cognitive competency at 18 months. In addition, part of this effect operated through children’s concurrent language ability. Findings are discussed with respect to the Vygotskian themes of internalization and semiotic mediation.

This thesis examines policy and service delivery issues in the development of health and support for families at risk. The research focuses on families with children less than 7 years of age living in some of the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods of metropolitan Adelaide. The thesis draws on evidence of (a) barriers to service support perceived by these families and (b) their strengths and resources in order to identify and develop arguments related to key issues of policy and service delivery.

The work focuses on the area integration stay focused on canistherapy as a tool for strenghening social responsibility intact children and children with disabilities and social disadvantage. The theoretical part deals with the issue of spending free time of children and youth, with an emphasis on the possibilities of involving children with special needs in leisure activities. Furthermore, the thesis deals with the historical insights of the integration tendencies in the Czech lands, the definition of integration and inclusion concepts and, last but not least, the field of activities and therapy in the presence of a dog. The research part of the work, realized in the form of a questionnaire, aims to determine the development of social competences of intact children, children with disabilities and social disadvantage during an integration stay with an emphasis on canistherapy. KEYWORDS leisure, integration, inclusion, disability, social disadvantage, canistherapy

The diploma thesis deals with the problematic of education of children with socially disadvantage in nursery schools. The theoretical part elaborates the definition of the social disadvantage, its reasons and types. The text also deals with the social exclusion and the economical and demographical situation in Klatovy region. There thesis mentions also the laws and regulations relating to the children with special educational needs. The theoretical part deals with the possibilities of the support for the children with social disadvantage. I focused also on the institutions and organizations that can help the teachers as well as the families to solve different life situations. The research part focuses on teachers and assistant directors of the nursery schools in Klatovy region who meet and educate children with social disadvantage in the nursery schools. For research, I used the questionnaire and interview method. The main goal of the research inquiry was to find out the attitude of teachers to the education of the preschool children with social disadvantage in Klatovy, the prevailing types of social disadvantage and the experience of teachers with the supportive measures in practice. Thanks to the research performed, I found out that the occurrence frequency of children with social disadvantage in...

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This inquiry into informal networks and policy negotiations is set in the theoretical framework of network governance. It builds theory to explain informal networks by examining neighbourhood associations in post-Katrina New Orleans through a variety of qualitative methodologies including interviews, document analysis, surveying and ethnography. In New Orleans, neighbourhood associations do not engage in social-service delivery, they prioritise neighbourhood protection and neighbourhood change. They represent their neighbourhoods through a system of intensive volunteering not elections. That system burns out neighbourhood leaders and leaves associations constantly looking for new volunteers. These associations partner with non-profits, work with politicians, and engage in fierce conflict when excluded from policy negotiations. Finally, they set their agenda based upon the physical characteristics of their neighbourhoods, investing in local institutions. These findings contribute to network governance theory. New Orleans’ democracy of volunteers introduces a new form of democratic anchorage to governance theory. Actors in informal networks have varying priorities. This demonstrates the importance of early involvement by these actors in policy creation and the ways in which policy construction can ignore community. Neighbourhood associations blackmail, bribe and coerce to create their own power, showing how power at the micro-level includes not only resources and decision-making, but also interest. These findings fit into a broader theme. Negotiations with multiple actors improve policy by incorporating complex priorities and neighbourhood context into the policy system. This wider theme of how to address complexity is the policy equivalent of the wisdom of crowds. Policy-makers can either incorporate complexity such as local context and differing priorities or face the conflict and consequences of ignoring it.