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The world we live in is increasingly complex, interconnected and unpredictable. We face social and technological challenges, which must be overcome through the maintenance and redesign of existing systems, as well as the design and integration of new systems. Each of these systems has stakeholders at different levels and across domains, from those governing societies, to technical experts working on well-defined tasks. These stakeholders generally want their system to survive, or even thrive, in the face of uncertainty and unexpected influences. To describe this desire, people, from politicians to CEOs, use the word resilience. Resilience is a term that is referred to across domains in academic and public discourse. However, the exact definition of resilience is elusive, and it is not clear how to apply resilience in the context of socio-technical systems. To design resilient systems, we must first be able to answer questions including: Does a resilient system change to accommodate influences or stay the same? If the system changes, where should this change take place? How do we decide which system, or sub-system, to make resilient and at what level of abstraction? In this research I show how we can answer these questions by eliciting, combining and contrasting the perspectives of multiple stakeholders of socio-technical systems. In order to talk to these stakeholders, in interviews and workshops, I had to overcome communication barriers. Communicating about resilience is challenging because the term means different things to different people, both within and across domains. In this research I use diagrams to develop our understanding of resilience as a concept, prompt discussions with stakeholders, represent examples of resilience, and compare stakeholder perspectives across domains. Using these diagrams, I present three characteristics of resilience that have emerged from the literature and empirical studies: resisting, recovering and changing in response to influences. I also show how resilience is framed by stakeholders’ perspectives and depends on how a system’s boundary, purpose and timescale is defined. The characteristics of resilience are related to system dimensions, structure and function, with a focus on the similarities and differences between social and technical sub-systems. This research contributes a new understanding of resilience in the context of design practice, which moves us closer towards being able to design resilient socio-technical systems.

Sous-région de l'Afrique centrale, la Communauté économique et monétaire de l'Afrique centrale (CEMAC) dispose d'un potentiel en ressources pétrolières très important. Ces ressources sont au coeur des enjeux aussi bien de la géopolitique mondiale que du développement économique régional. Si cinq des six États producteurs de pétrole de la CEMAC ont basé leurs économies sur l'exploitation pétrolière, les pénuries récurrentes des produits pétroliers dans ces pays posent les problèmes d'accès à ces énergies modernes (gaz butane et carburants). Mais bien plus que ces pénuries, phénomènes conjoncturels, c'est davantage les disparités socio-spatiales d'accès aux produits pétroliers qui constituent l'objet de cette thèse. Cette situation, a priori paradoxale pour des États pourtant dotés d'un potentiel énergétique, constitue un véritable frein au développement des activités économiques notamment dans les secteurs de transports et de l'industrie. Ces difficultés d'accès aux énergies modernes contraignent les ménages notamment ceux des zones rurales à utiliser la biomasse sous forme traditionnelle (bois de feu et déjections animales) au détriment de la préservation de l'environnement voire de leur santé. L'objectif de cette thèse est donc de diagnostiquer les facteurs qui entravent l'accès universel (au plan social et spatial) aux produits pétroliers et ses conséquences sur l'environnement. De plus, les stratégies développées par les acteurs sont également mises en lumière. Nous énonçons quelques pistes de réflexion afin d'améliorer le ' système d'approvisionnement et de distribution des produits pétroliers dans les pays de la CEMAC. / The Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CE MAC) in the Central African subregion has a very significant potential of oil resources. Those resources are central to the global geopolitics as well as the regional economic development issues. Although the economy of the six oil-producing states of the CEMAC is based on oil exploitation, the recurring shortages of petroleum products in those countries cause problems in accessing modern energies (gas, butane and fuel). But beyond those shortages, short-term fluctuations, the socio-spatial disparities in access to petroleum products are the focus of this PhD thesis. This situation which seems paradoxical at first sight for countries endowed with an energy potential though, is a real obstacle to development in particular in the transport and industry sector. The difficulties to access modern energies constrain households in particular those in rural areas, to use the biomass in a traditional way (firewood and animal waste) at the expense of the environment preservation or even at the expense of their health. This thesis aims therefore to diagnose the factors which hinder the universal access (on social and spatial level) to petroleum products and its consequences on the environment. Furthermore, the strategies developed by the actors are also highlighted. We propose some ideas to improve the supply and distribution system of petroleum products in the CEMAC countries.

Aujourd’hui, de fortes inégalités sociales de santé persistent entre les individus les plus favorisés socio-économiquement et ceux vivants dans des situations moins favorables, et l’alimentation y contribue fortement. Bien que les disparités sociales de nutrition soient bien documentées, notamment en ce qui concerne le niveau d’études, les connaissances relatives à l’influence indépendante des différents indicateurs socio-économiques sur l’alimentation et notamment ses dimensions comportementales sont insuffisantes. Par ailleurs, les mécanismes sous-jacents des disparités en nutrition sont encore mal compris. Parmi les déterminants individuels, nous manquons de connaissances sur l’influence du parcours de vie des individus sur leurs comportements alimentaires. Dans ce contexte, les objectifs de cette thèse étaient d’analyser les associations entre les facteurs socio-économiques et les comportements alimentaires, abordés sous différentes dimensions : apports en nutriments, prise des repas principaux, et pratiques de snacking (i.e. prises alimentaires différentes des repas principaux). Il s’agissait également d’évaluer l’influence d’événements de vie professionnels sur les comportements alimentaires. Les résultats montrent que les individus ayant la position socio-économique (PSE) la plus favorisée ont des apports plus élevés en nutriments recommandés (fibre, vitamine C, B9, magnésium, etc.). Le niveau d’éducation semble être un déterminant majeur des apports nutritionnels et modifie les associations entre revenus et apports en nutriments. Bien que les individus de PSE moins favorisée soient moins susceptibles d’avoir des prises de snacking, la qualité nutritionnelle de ces prises est moindre. Par ailleurs, le passage à la retraite est associé à des apports alimentaires moins favorables à la santé (qualité globale, lipides, sodium, acides gras saturés…), en particulier chez les hommes ayant les plus bas revenus avant la retraite (diminution de l’apport en produits laitiers et augmentation de l’apport en lipides). L’ensemble de ces résultats soulignent l’importance des déterminants socio-économiques ainsi que des événements de vie professionnels sur les comportements alimentaires et la nécessité de mieux adapter les politiques nutritionnelles de santé en fonction des sous-groupes de la population et des périodes et événements de la vie. / Strong health inequalities remain between socio-economically advantaged individuals and those of lower socioeconomic position. Diet appears to be an important modifiable factor, which contributes to health inequalities. Although social disparities in nutrition have been well documented, the independent influences of the different socioeconomic indicators on diet – in particular its behavioural dimensions – have not been deeply investigated. In addition, the pathways underlying these disparities are still poorly understood. Among individual determinants, there is a lack of knowledge regarding effects of life course on dietary behaviours.The objective of this Ph.D. thesis was to investigate the associations between socioeconomic factors and dietary behaviours, expressed in terms of nutrient intakes and snacking practices. The influence of occupational life events on dietary behaviours was also assessed.The results showed that individuals with high socioeconomic position (PSE) had higher intakes of recommended nutrients (fibre, vitamin C, folate, magnesium, etc.). Education appears to be a major determinant of dietary intakes and modifies the associations between income and dietary intakes. Although individuals with low socioeconomic position are less likely to snack, the nutritional quality of their snacks is lower. Moreover, retirement was associated with unhealthier dietary intakes (overall diet quality, lipids, sodium, saturated fatty acids,...), particularly in men with the lowest income before retirement (decrease in intake of dairy products and increase in intake of lipids).The results underline the importance of socioeconomic determinants and life events on dietary behaviours. The identification of life periods and events leading to changes in dietary behaviours enables on one hand to improve knowledge regarding pathways underlying socioeconomic inequalities in health related to nutrient and food intake, and on the other hand to determine target populations for interventions. Adapting nutritional public interventions among social subgroups of the population and throughout the entire life is key to improve dietary behaviours.

In this dissertation I argue that the notion of environmental justice is recognised by section 24 of the Constitution, forms part of our law, and could play a role in South African socio-economic rights litigation as a transformative tool. I assert that because environmental justice recognises the intrinsic links between the distribution of basic resources and the environments in which poor people continue to find themselves in post 1994 South Africa, it has the ability to enhance and strengthen the enforcement of socio-economic rights. Environmental justice can do so by, among other things, focussing the court‟s mind on questions of justice and equity in the context of previous unjust environmental decision-making. In chapter 1, I explore the origins of environmental justice as a conceptual framework and as a movement that first emerged in the United States, and was subsequently embraced in the early post-apartheid era in response to immense environmental injustices experienced by South Africa‟s poor black majority as a result of apartheid. I discuss how many of these injustices not only „linger on‟ in post 1994 South Africa, but have also arguably become more entrenched, representing a failure on the part of the hopeful environmental justice movement of the early post-apartheid era. I highlight some of the reasons for this failure, which include the fragmented nature of the environmental justice movement, changes in government policy in relation to environmental issues, and the inadequate implementation of environmental laws intended to ensure public participation. In spite of these set backs, I argue in chapter 2 that there remains room for environmental justice to play a role in transformative constitutionalism. I then demonstrate that, despite environmental justice having been incorporated into our law, it has failed to capture the imagination of lawyers engaged in socio-economic rights litigation. Sustainable development and human rights discourses have thus far been the dominant voices in socio-economic rights litigation, at the expense of environmental justice, and its transformative potential. In chapter 3, I analyse Mazibuko v City of Johannesburg, which concerned the right to free basic water under section 27 of the Constitution. In my analysis of Mazibuko, I align myself with those who criticise the court‟s approach as anti-transformative. I do so by demonstrating that the court ii „technicised‟, „personalised‟, „proceduralised‟ and so, „depoliticised‟ the applicants‟ challenge to the government‟s policy. In this way, the court endorsed the „commodification‟ of water, and a „neo-liberal paradigm‟ towards access to basic water. I point to how linking environmental justice to the right to access to basic water could have encouraged the court to adopt a more redistributive and transformative approach. Finally, in chapter 4, I conclude by considering the future role of environmental justice in socio-economic rights litigation to enhance the ability of the environmental right to challenge poverty and effect transformation in the lives of poor people in South Africa. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / Public Law / Unrestricted

A total of 136 children from 5 to 8 years of age were presented with standard conservation of length and liquid tasks as well as story versions of those tasks. Half of the children were read stories in which the views of two non-conservers came into conflict, and the other half were read "conflict free" stories. Although the length conflict story was found to be significantly easier than the lenght task, the nonconflict story was not. In addition, the length conflict story was significantly easier than the length nonconflict story for the younger children (5-6 year-olds). However no significant differences were found among the liquid conditions. The results suggest that, for length, children's conservation performance was benefitted by cognitive conflict rather than merely the narrative format of the story problem and that children's reasoning can be affected by mere exposure to "socio-cognitive conflict". These results lend support to the controversial claim that symmetrical incorrect conflict is sufficient for stimulating cognitive development. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

The problem: For protected areas to remain relevant, we need to understand their impact on a wide set of conservation objectives and environmental outcomes. We also need to evaluate how this influence relates to the socio-ecological environment within which they occur. This is a complex endeavour requiring a pluralistic approach, which draws on a wide range of interdisciplinary fields. Research question: This thesis addresses the following question: What effects do mountain protected areas have on ecosystem services over time and how does this influence relate to broader socio-economic and ecological drivers of landscape change? Aim and objectives: I use a pluralistic, socio-ecological framing to assess the impact of ~40 years of mountain protection, drawing on comparisons of ~30 and ~40 years before and after protection respectively, with an adjacent area of similar terrain informing scenarios of counterfactual conditions. I also investigate what types of values (economic and intrinsic) are important when determining the impact of mountain protected areas. Thesis approach and methods: I operationalise the concepts of socio-ecological systems, ecosystem services, land use transitions and counterfactuals to investigate socio-ecological change and how it relates to protected area impact in the Groot Winterhoek, a mountain catchment in the south-western Cape of South Africa. This mountain catchment is important for regional water supplies for agricultural and domestic uses and falls in the Cape Floristic Region, a global biodiversity hotspot. It is comprised of privately owned mountain wildlands and a wilderness-protected area, known as the Groot Winterhoek Wilderness Area, established in 1978 (gazetted in 1985) which forms part of the Cape Floristic Region World Heritage Site. I combine methods from social science, ecology, environmental geography, geomatics and hydrology to understand the history of land use and cover (land use/cover) and associated ecosystem service trade-offs, how they are perceived by landowners as well as their wider impact on the region. Specifically, I assess the impact of protection on land use/cover, vegetation, fire and water flows over the last ~50 years, by comparing and contextualising results of change within the protected area to alternative scenarios of “no protection” (the counterfactual conditions). Vegetation and land use/cover change inside the protected area were determined respectively using 72 repeat terrestrial photographs and vegetation surveys, and an analysis of orthorectified aerial imagery. Methods used to construct the counterfactual scenarios of mechanisms (e.g. changes in land use/cover) that would likely drive vegetation changes inside the protected area included: i) 60 repeat surveys and in-depth interviews with landowners adjacent or proximal to the protected area owning unprotected land of similar terrain to the protected area; and ii) land use/cover change analysis of orthorectified aerial imagery of adjacent unprotected land of similar terrain before and after protected area establishment. 4 This latter information was used to understand the role of the protected area in driving vegetation changes inside the protected area. Social, biophysical and remote sensing results were directly used to parameterise land use/cover components of a hydrological model to determine the influence of protection on water flows. Specifically, water flows were simulated for the current state of the environment inside the protected area as well as for several counterfactual scenarios i.e. the alternative land use/cover scenarios of “no protection”. These counterfactual scenarios included land use/cover at two-time steps of ~30 and ~8 years before protection and one-time step ~40 years after protection both inside and outside the protected area. Results: Long-term change in ecosystem service use outside the protected area on privately owned land of similar terrain to inside the protected area (Section 3): Over the last ~50 years, outside the protected area, there was a shift from livestock-based, subsistence agriculture and small-scale farming to a diversified set of ecosystem service uses. The combined area of grazing and wildflower harvesting declined by 39%, while the number of landowners using the mountains for personal nature-based recreation and ecotourism increased by 61% and 23% respectively. Agriculture intensified in suitable areas of mountain land with the number of landowners cultivating land increasing by 20%. Exogenous socioeconomic drivers associated with globalisation and economic growth were important causal mechanisms of land use change. Landowners valued mountain protection for intrinsic and non-use reasons (73-80% of landowners), including existence, bequest and option values, as well as for the indirect use of water supply (72% of landowners) in comparison with direct use reasons such as spiritual/cultural experiences and nature-based recreation inside the protected area (18 and 50% of landowners respectively). Personal, nature-based recreation outside the wilderness-protected area was associated with valuing the protection of mountain land for intrinsic and non-use reasons. Long-term vegetation change inside the protected area and plausible mechanisms driving vegetation change (Section 4): Inside the mountain protected area, fynbos vegetation cover increased on average between 11 and 30% and there were significant declines in bare ground and rock cover. In 5 accumulation and fire intensities. However, these latter changes in land use/cover also occurred outside the protected area (see results summarised for Section 3 above and Section 4 below) and therefore cannot be attributed to protected area establishment. Land use/cover and the influence on water flows inside the protected area compared to counterfactual scenarios of no protection (Section 5): Declines in grazing and changes to the fire regimes occurred regardless of the protected area boundaries. In the past, there was a high frequency of small, low intensity fires across the landscape, both inside and outside the protected area. More recently, fires have been actively suppressed and this resultsin the build-up of biomass and the development of extensive, high intensity fires which, under suitable conditions, burn large expanses of the mountain catchment. Hydrological modelling showed that a high intensity burning regime negatively affected streamflow regardless of protected area boundaries. Streamflow increased by more than 80% under high flow conditions and decreased by more than 40% under low flow conditions relative to an unburnt ‘natural’ scenario. Over the last 50 years there has also been a substantial increase in dams, buildings and roads and minor increases in cultivation outside the protected area. This has been avoided inside the protected area where these land use/cover classes declined. If the increase in these land use/cover types observed outside the protected area occurred inside the protected area this would have resulted in reductions in daily streamflow leaving the protected portion of the catchment. For example, outside the protected area reductions of 8% to 25% of streamflow were observed during mid and low flow conditions respectively, particularly during dry years, in comparison to a ‘natural’ scenario. In contrast, inside the protected area streamflow recovered from past conditions to more closely resemble the natural flow conditions of the catchment. Therefore, had the protected area not been established there would have been losses in streamflow from the catchment as well as an increase in the degree of fragmentation within this mountain area. However, with increased water storage and fragmentation outside the protected area has also come increased socio-economic opportunities such as employment and local opportunities for ecotourism and sustainable agriculture e.g. indigenous cut flows. This highlights the importance of maintaining various forms of land management systems (multifunctional landscapes) within mountain ecosystems but also the need to understand the sustainability of different land management system types. Determining appropriate land management systems for mountain areas should be based on a full understanding of the impacts on ecosystem service benefits and costs at local and regional levels between social groups both spatially and temporally. Broader significance: This thesis contributes to the conservation literature on two main fronts. Firstly, it contributes conceptually and theoretically to understanding the dynamics of ecosystem services in relation to mountain protection. Secondly, it contributes methodologically by using an inclusive, trans- and interdisciplinary research approach for evidence-based conservation at a place-based and landscape level. The study provides a case 6 study example of the positive impact that mountain protection has on water-related ecosystem services, notably by maintaining streamflow throughout high to low flow periods and during dry years. It also provides clear evidence that ecosystem service trade-offs do not remain constant over time and shows that intrinsic and non-use values are required when describing the importance of mountain protected areas. In terms of understanding the impact that protected areas have in mountain regions, the research shows that complex processes are at play that extend beyond the boundaries of a specific protected area in both time and space. Interactions between global and local drivers were found to be prominent causal mechanisms of socio-ecological change and ultimately determined the influence of mountain-protection on land use/cover, fire, vegetation and water-related ecosystem services. The thesis emphasises that counterfactual framings are necessary to understand and attribute the impacts of protected areas on environmental outcomes, however pluralism and socio-ecological approaches are critical to determine plausible counterfactual conditions. This thesis focused only on landowners adjacent and proximal to the protected area owning the majority of mountain catchment land of similar terrain. It is likely that multiple socioeconomic trade-offs have occurred between different social groups and generations at both local and regional levels. Understanding how the disadvantages and benefits of the impacts of protected areas are apportioned across the landscape and temporally is an aspect that requires future research. Central to this would be to fully consider how human well-being is influenced both upstream and downstream, including at regional levels, and between social groups and across generations. Considering the impact of protected areas on the full range of ecosystem services and linking this to societal preferences and perceptions should be incorporated into the overall goal of developing an evidence base for conservation. This is because it is both scientific evidence and societal change that can determine protected area persistence and thus long-term protected area impact.

This thesis compares organized humanist organizations in Canada and the Netherlands. Using a grounded theoretical approach, three fundamental research questions are addressed: (1) Why has organized humanism been much more successful in the Netherlands than in Canada?; (2) Why is Dutch humanism informed by an inclusive ideological orientation, while Canadian humanism is militantly anti-religious?; and (3) Is there a relationship between success and ideological orientation? Using a number of socio-historical and internal-organizational factors, the study suggests that the success of the Dutch movement is, in part, indebted to the long humanist tradition in the Netherlands stretching back to the sixteenth century. Secondly, the pillarization of Dutch society along ideological lines during the late nineteenth century influenced the development of a distinct humanist pillar following the end of the Second World War. Along with the confessional pillars, humanists in the Netherlands were able to secure financial assistance from the state, encouraging an inclusive, non-confrontational ideological foundation for Dutch humanism. In comparison, Canada lacks a strong irreligious tradition and maintains a fair degree of neutrality between church and state. As a result, Canadian humanists have not received any form of subsidization from the state. Organized humanism in Canada was heavily influenced by the militantly anticlerical British rationalist movement and developed largely around Dr. Henry Morgentaler's controversial fight for abortion rights during the late 1960s. As a consequence, Canadian humanism is anti-religious in its orientation. By developing humanism into a practical alternative to the church, Dutch humanists have enjoyed greater success than their Canadian counterparts. However, given the tremendous decrease in religious affiliation in both Canada and the Netherlands during recent decades, the comparatively small numbers joining the ranks of organized humanist movements suggests that this non-theistic worldview does not serve as an attractive alternative to traditional religious expressions. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Bien que le best-seller existe au Quebec depuis des annees, il n'a suscite qu'un faible interet parml les critiques litteraires. Il y a l'exception notable de l'equipe du CRELIO (Centre de Recherche en Lltterature Quebecolse) de de l'Universite Laval, dont font partle Denis Saint-Jacques, Claude Hartin et d'autres, qui, depuis 1982, a fait du best-seller son domaine de recherche. Ces chercheurs ont limite leur champ de recherche aux best-sellers les plus populaires entre 1970 et 1982. Puisque les recherches faites par le CRELIO ne couvrent que les best-sellers parus pendant les annees soixante-dlx, j'al voulu examiner le best-seller quebecois des annees quatre-vingt, en particuller, Le Matou (1981), Les Filles de Caleb (1985 et 1986) et Les Tisserands du pouyoir (1988) qui ont tous connu untel succes qu'ils peuvent etre consideres comme ~best-sellers quebecois des annees quatre-vlngt. De quel type de succes s'agit-il? S'agit-il d'un succes comme par exemple celui du MATOU d'Yves Beauchemin, d'un succes programme grace aux relations publiques, mettant en valeur l'usage extensif de la presse et des medias, beneficiant de l'accuell chaleureux requ en France avant d'etre lance au Quebec, ou celui des FILLES DE CALEB d'Arlette Cousture, d'un succes inattendu, qui depasse toute strategie de marketing, OU celui des TISSERANDS DU PQUVOIR de Claude Fournier, d'un succes qui est peut-etre base sur !'adaptation du livre a l'ecran (film et serie televisee), le scenario ayant precede le livre? / Thesis / Bachelor of Arts (BA)