Wildfire hazard is increasing in much of the United States, posing a threat to human communities and natural ecosystem services, especially in areas at the wildland-urban interface. There are steps people can take to reduce wildfire hazard, but often they are not used. Understanding and addressing human perceptions of wildfire risk and of risk-mitigating behaviors requires knowledge of both social and ecological systems. To better understand this complex issue, three types of factors must be addressed: social, cultural, demographic, and biophysical. This dissertation incorporates these three essential factors to intensively investigate the risk perception and behaviors of residents living in wildland-urban interface communities in three states (Arizona, California, and New Mexico). The first study examines the effect that individual risk perceptions have on intention to mitigate wildfire risk by integrating two social-psychological theories, Theory of Planned Behavior and Cultural Theory, to investigate the causal relationship and motivational factors that influence the intention to mitigate wildfire hazard. Results suggest that attitudes toward wildfire mitigation practices and perceived behavioral control play a significant role in the decision process. The effect of an individual’s orientation toward nature is mediated by attitude and perceived behavioral control. It is important that these orientations are taken into consideration when designing strategies to increase incentives to mitigate fire risk. The second study explores the linkage between property owners’ perception of risk and scientifically measurable wildfire risks that vary across hazard zones in the three study locations. Individuals’ perceptions of wildfire can be substantially different from each other and from reality. This study proposes that the perception of risk is formed in a multistage process (individual and community level). Results show that homeowners’ worldview with respect to nature, length of residency, place-based influence, and attitudes about risk factors all are significant predictors for how residents of fire-prone areas perceive their risks. The variance in social and physical vulnerability associated with wildfire can explain, to a certain extent, the variation in individual perceptions of wildfire risk. The perception of risk is consistent with the level of exposure to fire hazards. The third study investigates spatial relationships among social and ecological factors on private property. The biophysical characteristics of individual properties were extracted to observe wildfire risk and incorporated with information about social context from mail surveys. Results demonstrate that mitigation behaviors in the three study communities illustrate a spatial clustering pattern. Moreover, orientations toward nature and physical attributes of property had an impact on decisions to undertake mitigation behaviors.

The purpose of this thesis is to increase an understanding about management strategies in transitional economies from the perspective of creativity/entrepreneurship, control, trust and social/cultural changes. The study is carried out through a case study of management strategies in a transition economy, Kazakhstan. Transitional economies are not a new interest for management research. However not many studies have been made in Kazakhstan about management strategies, compared to the countries that are situated closer to Europe, such as East European countries.. There are not so many studies done about the Central Asian transition economies like Kazakhstan. Therefore a country like Kazakhstan can contribute to the literature. Another important distinction in research of transitional economies is whether it concerns local experiences or cross- cultural experiences. The study shows the perspective of Kazakhstani managers on creativity/entrepreneurship, control, trust and social/cultural change and their perceptions of western management strategies. The study shows that there are two phases in a transition economy. The first phase is in the beginning of a transition economy, that time is characterized as chaotic and unpredictable. The second phase is the time when the economy becomes more stable and people get values back based on socialism and used them in business. In the present time, the values are formed through a mixture socialism and capitalism. The process of transition influences the four variables: creativity/entrepreneurship, control, trust and social/cultural changes. It also influenced the way of management in transitional economy. At the end of the thesis there will be given some theoretical and managerial implications of the thesis, the limitations of the thesis and the suggestions for future research.

After Brexit, the city of Amsterdam has been boosting its attractive power for people around the world, becoming a major international centre in Europe and one of the most interesting social-cultural and innovation hubs of the globe. While the city grows, it pursues ambitious objectives related to sustainable development, social inclusion, housing shortage and heritage protection. Amsterdam-Noord has historically been a leftover part of city, accommodating large industrial infrastructure, while the fabric of the old town would expand in all the other directions. Only in the last century, the Dutch capital started expanding on the other side of the river IJ. The late development generated a mix of models and urban typologies that collide and coexist in the area. Village-like row houses and low-density neighborhoods from the 1920s are only few meters away from brand new residential towers, social housing blocks mix with new industrial heritage regeneration projects, touristic harbor and boat houses pop here and there. IJ-Plein is the site of a representative urban plan designed by OMA in the 1980s, which created a distinctive urban fabric, but over time the original neighborhood no longer meets the requirements of sustainability and the needs of the people. Together with the old harbor industrial area next door, this area is in need of renewal and renovation. With the aim of developing a new urban center for Amsterdam, the project intends to provide a future-proof urban solution, with innovative, cultural and urban center roles in different loops, depending on the specific location of the area. It will attempt to address a variety of urban issues such as student housing pressure, urban-water relations, community social-cultural life, recycling, green space, urban densification, etc., making the area a well-rounded organic whole and an attractive highlight of Amsterdam in 2050.

The aim of this research is to expand the framework of contemporary conflict resolution by constructing a complementary relationship between Western epistemologies and a Buddhist epistemology. Despite its evolution and development through self-reflexivity and self-critique, contemporary conflict resolution established upon Western epistemologies has confined the understanding of human mind to social/cultural orientations and left a comprehensive and qualitative analysis of the potential of individual human mind underdeveloped. Buddhist epistemology, the central theme of which is to address human suffering that is mainly psychological and subjective, makes a critical analysis of human subjectivity in terms of how it can be become a root cause of suffering including conflict and how it can be addressed by gaining an insight into the social/cultural construction of human subjectivity. The argument of the thesis is that when a socially/culturally-oriented view of human mind and a deeper and more profound view of human mind are combined together, we can engage in a qualitatively richer and deeper analysis of the psychological and subjective dynamics of conflict resolution.

An individual’s health is influenced by more than just the health care system, but also in large part by the social determinants of health. People exist within broader social, cultural, and ecological systems which influence their health outcomes through the social determinants of health. This doctoral dissertation examines social, cultural, and ecological systems to understand several factors that support and hinder community health and wellbeing to inform future policy. This dissertation incorporates a mix of methodological approaches across four interrelated research studies to better understand direct and indirect factors influencing community health and wellbeing. In doing so, this thesis is divided into four research chapters. Study 1 consists of a community-based research project that examines how food security, cultural continuity, and community health and wellbeing are connected through the sharing of harvested country food in Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut, Canada. Based on this understanding we can demonstrate how climate change and increased shipping along the inlet affects the community as a result of changes in marine mammals and harvesting activities. Study 2 presents a logistic regression that models how cultural continuity variables impact self-rated health for participants living in Inuit Nunangat in Canada. This model uses the Arctic Supplement questions of the Aboriginal Peoples Survey to compare measures of cultural continuity to traditional measures based on government services. This study demonstrates an important link between cultural continuity and self-rated health for Inuit living in Inuit Nunangat. iv Study 3 contains a case study of different implementation successes and challenges of Locally Managed Marine Areas globally. These cases are used to understand how community member involvement as stakeholders in marine resource decision-making not only aligns with existing local and Indigenous ways of management, but also can enhance biodiversity as well as local livelihoods. Finally, Study 4 uses ontology engineering methods to represent the results from the first three studies. This study demonstrates how this novel method can be used to illustrate the interconnectedness of results from different disciplines using diverse data sources and through the creation of different scenarios. Taken together, these studies provide timely insights regarding the ways policy can support or hinder efforts to improve community health and wellbeing and adapt to climate changes. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / The goal of this doctoral dissertation was to develop a better understanding of how social, cultural, and ecological systems impact community health and wellbeing in various contexts. Findings indicate climate and shipping changes impact Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut through the relationship between food security, cultural continuity, and community health and wellbeing. Relatedly, harvesting activities, access to country food, satisfaction in Inuit governance, and community involvement all increase the probability that an Inuk living in the Arctic has good or great self-rated health. Additionally, Locally Managed Marine Areas, an approach to marine resources management that includes community members as key stakeholders, not only aligns with existing local and Indigenous management practices, but can also support biodiversity and increased catch of various species. Finally, by representing these research results in a single model called an ontology, we can make educated guesses about how these different studies are interconnected. The insights gained from this work can be adopted by decision- makers to create supports for and remove barriers to improved community health and wellbeing and community efforts to adapt to changes.

Thesis (MPhil (Ancient Studies)--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / Chapter 1 begins by giving the 21st century reader of the Aeneid insights into the innovative socio-cultural environment of the Augustan Age. Following this is an investigation into the societal and cultural importance placed on the Four Cardinal Values in Augustan Age society. Virgil’s attitude to war has been a perennial topic of debate amongst Virgilian scholars. The focus of chapter 1 becomes more specific as it examines Virgil’s personal history, the socio-cultural environment of his childhood and the influence this may have had on his adult opinion of war and the way it is expressed in the Aeneid. An aspect of Virgil’s personal history that is fundamental to understanding his social context, is his relationship with Emperor Augustus. To conclude chapter 1, this is investigated with specific reference to two episodes in the Aeneid. In chapter 2, attention is given to particular aspects of Virgil’s portrayal of Aeneas’ heroic nature. The chapter opens with an examination of Virgil’s representation of Aeneas’ imperfect heroism, then suggests possible reasons behind the inclusion of ambiguity in this characterization. In addition to this, the question of Homeric characteristics in Virgil’s Roman hero is investigated. Chapter 2 then examines the more positive aspects of Virgil’s depiction of Aeneas’ heroism, concluding with a discussion on the favourable interpretation by Augustan Age Romans of Virgil’s demonstration of Aeneas’ heroic nature. Chapter 3 is devoted to a discussion of the manner in which Virgil’s environment influenced his presentation of Aeneas’ personal interactions. Prior to addressing the actual relationships, the chapter explores the question of Virgil’s characterization of Aeneas as somewhat uncommunicative in the epic. This chapter then concentrates on two main facets of Virgil’s portrayal of Aeneas’ personal relationships, i.e. those with family members and those with relevant non-family members that illustrate the extent to which Virgil’s social context influenced his composition of this poem. In conclusion, this study summarises the importance of viewing the Aeneid in its correct context. A bibliography is appended.

Detta arbete baseras på en kvalitativ intervjustudie med tre musiklärare som arbetar i en kulturskola. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur dessa lärare ser på olika lektionsformers betydelse för elevers motivation. Den teoretiska utgångspunkten för arbetet utgörs av ett sociokulturellt perspektiv. I intervjuerna ombads lärarna att besvara ett antal öppet ställda frågor, utifrån vilka de beskriver sin syn på ämnet. Resultatet visar att musiklärarna uppfattar en tradition bland kommunala musik- och kulturskolor där individuella 20-minuterslektioner är den vanligast förekommande lektionsformen, dock anser de att olika typer av gruppundervisning blir allt vanligare. Anledningen till att individuella lektioner fortfarande utgör normen anses ha att göra med att det är bekvämare jämfört med grupp- och ensembleundervisning som innebär större arbetsbörda för läraren, men som enligt informanterna i regel gagnar elevernas motivation i större utsträckning. Informanterna var överens om att det bästa kursupplägget ur såväl kunskapsmässig som motivationsmässig aspekt vore att eleverna får både individuella lektioner och lektioner i grupp, då dessa anses komplettera varandra på ett gynnsamt sätt. De tre var överens om att när det kommer till unga nybörjare är dock någon form av gruppundervisning att föredra. I unga åldrar har inte det inre belöningssystemet utvecklats och därför behövs en högre grad av direkt belöning, vilket underlättas i sociala sammanhang, menar informanterna. Uppsatsen avslutas med en diskussion där resultatet diskuteras i förhållande till tidigare forskning. / This study is based on qualitative interviews with three teachers in a Swedish municipal school of music. The purpose of the study is to examine these teachers’ views on various types of lessons and the impact they have in terms of motivating students. The theoretical basis of this work is the social cultural perspective. In the interviews the teachers were asked to answer a couple of open questions, from which they described their views. The teachers’ experiences show a traditional and most common way of education on musical instruments in Sweden that is, 20 minute individual lessons. The practises of teaching in groups are however considered to have increased in popularity over past years. The reason why individual lessons still are norm is because of the larger workload for the teachers regarding group lessons. Nevertheless, group lessons are considered to motivate students to a greater extent than individual lessons. The three teachers agreed upon that the best alternative is to give students opportunity to receive both individual and group lessons, since these complement each other in a favourable manner. When it comes to young beginners, some form of group activity is though preferable. This is because young students do not have the internal reward system developed and therefore requires a higher degree of direct confirmation, which is supposed to be more facilitated by group settings than by individual lessons. The study ends with a chapter where results to previous research are discussed.

The aim of this essay is to examine why and how three teachers who work in elementary classes choose to use ability grouping during math lessons and what they think of ability grouping as a method to individualize the activities according to the pupil’s needs. I chose one main question for this study that is the following: What is the teacher’s point of view and experience of ability grouping in teaching mathematics? And three sub-questions: What are the motives behind the choice of ability grouping? What are the advantages of ability grouping? What are the disadvantages of ability grouping? In order to be able to answer my questions, I used the qualitative method. I interviewed three teachers who work in the elementary classes (First to fifth grade) to find out what they think about ability grouping and how it is experienced in mathematic teaching.The result shows that the common thing between these three teachers is that they don’t use ability grouping as the only teaching method. They all agree that the whole class teaching has many benefits for the pupils. Regarding the teachers’ views on advantages of ability grouping, they all regard it as a method that contributes to differentiating the math activities according to the pupil's personal needs. My conclusion is that the teachers’ different experiences of ability grouping have an impact on their point of view of ability grouping.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:33:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 1325104 bytes, checksum: 62f2ea1264aba1097092ccaaaaf70a23 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-04-24 / The development of tourism during the last decades has brought up concerns about the impacts on the receiving communities. Although it presents itself as a social-economical alternative, increasing job offers and income revenue, when it happens in a intense and random way in small communities it unleashes a series of social, cultural and environmental impacts The scholars that work on this subject suggest planning and tourism handling as ways to ease the negative impacts and increase the positive impacts. The goal of this study is to show how planning and touristic marketing can contribute to the reorganization of spontaneous touristic activity and ease the social-cultural impacts in small communities. The research was done in the Lavras Novas community, Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais district, which touristic development has been occurring in a intense and random way since 1995. The methodology used was the nonparticipant observation, with use of interviews semi-structured on public entities representatives, private corporations connected to tourism and members of the community. The conclusion was that the reorganization of tourism in that area can be done by planning and strategic use of integrated marketing. This process should be accomplished through establishing target-markets, defined by geographical location, income levels and demographical density; demand research to understand the needs and wants of the tourists; research on the tourist offer to check strong and weak spots of the place; redirecting the tourist offer focusing the creation of packages and tourist excursions, trying to value the cultural scene; use of internal marketing to integrated the whole community in the process; and, finally, the articulation with the intermediate market of travel agencies and transport companies. / O desenvolvimento do turismo, nas últimas décadas, tem suscitado preocupação com os impactos provocados nas comunidades receptoras. Ao mesmo tempo em que se apresenta como alternativa socioeconômica, gerando postos de trabalho e renda, quando acontece de forma intensa e aleatória nas pequenas comunidades, provoca uma série de impactos sociais, culturais e ambientais. Os estudiosos que tratam desse assunto atribuem ao planejamento e à gestão do turismo o papel de amenizar os impactos negativos e potencializar os impactos positivos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi demonstrar como o planejamento e a gestão do marketing turístico integrado podem contribuir para a reorganização da atividade turística espontânea e amenizar os impactos socioculturais em pequenas comunidades. A pesquisa foi realizada na comunidade de Lavras Novas, município de Ouro Preto, MG, cujo desenvolvimento turístico vem acontecendo, de forma intensa e aleatória, desde 1995. A metodologia utilizada foi a observação não-participante, com a aplicação de entrevistas semi-estruturadas a representantes de entidades públicas, empresas privadas ligadas ao turismo e a membros da comunidade. A conclusão a que se chegou foi que a reorganização do turismo, nessa localidade, pode-se dar a partir da adoção de planejamento e gestão estratégica de marketing integrado. Esse processo deve-se realizar a partir do estabelecimento de mercados-alvo; de pesquisa para se conhecerem as necessidades e os desejos dos turistas; de levantamento da oferta turística para verificar pontos fortes e fracos da localidade; de redirecionamento da oferta turística com foco na elaboração de pacotes ou roteiros turísticos, buscando valorizar os atrativos culturais; de adoção do marketing interno para integrar toda a comunidade no processo; e, finalmente, de articulação com o mercado intermediário de agências de viagens e operadoras.

abstract: Preschool children with language delays often struggle to learn new concepts. Proven strategies such as modeling, prompting, reinforcing responses, direct teaching, and hands-on experience matter to young children with language delays. Also important are social interactions and shared experiences with more knowledgeable persons. Within a cultural context Funds of Knowledge, that is the talents, traditions, and abilities families possess and pass down to their children may be a context for these. However, despite their importance the value Funds of Knowledge have has not been explored with parents of children with special needs. This action research study used a mixed-methods design to understand if Funds of Knowledge could be used as context to improve communication between parents and their children and build trust between parents and a teacher. Seven families participated in the study. Quantitative data were gathered with surveys and were analyzed with descriptive statistics. Qualitative data consisted of transcripts from home-visit interviews, parent presentations, and a focus group, and were analyzed with a grounded theory approach. Results indicate parents entered the study with trust in the teacher especially in terms of having competence in her abilities. Data also show that parents used the language strategies provided to improve communication with their children. Data also indicate that the use of a Funds of Knowledge activity allowed parents to share their knowledge and interests with their children and children in the classroom, feel empowered, and express emotions. From these findings, implication for practice and further research are provided. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2014