Over the years the coming together of Brazil, Russia, India and China into the BRIG forum has been treated as a moment in time when emerging economies started making their mark in the global arena. Similar patterns of extraordinary productivity and growth as well as tangible development have been the driving force that predicts these countries as being the world economic leaders of the future. South Africa has now come into BRIG, which necessitated the changes in the acronym to BRIGS, an alleged hegemon of Southern Africa and the continent's economic power house. This country joined BRIG group, adding to the world's emerging economies and as a representative of the African continent. When South Africa became a member, its main aim was to develop its economy and align itself socio-politically with the emerging economies of the world. These emerging economies have shown some positive growth. The emergence of BRICS has recently captured the commanding heights across all borders in the 'South' and the 'North'. It is evident that South Africa has striven to be recognised worldwide, by its foreign policy, stable politics and its sophisticated economic policy. South-South multilateral agreements have been widely discussed in International Political Economy, but little has been said about the impact they make in the socio-economic development of the emerging countries. The issue of multilateral agreements concerning BRIGS is still relatively unexplored in comparison to other multilateral agreements that South Africa has ventured into. Globally the BRIGS multilateral agreement has generated different views concerning its future expectations of promoting growth for its member states, particularly South Africa. The dissertation has discovered and highlighted the importance of South Africa as a member of BRIGS, and how its engagement in the multilateral agreement will benefit the country with opportunities that lie ahead. This paper also looked at the insinuation that South Africa may be used by its powerful BRIGS partners and thereby lose its continental dominance. The study scrutinises and allows open space for further investigation to be made about the BRIGS multilateral agreement and its impact on socio-economic development in the Republic of South Africa. Many argue that South Africa's entry in BRIGS is a dangerous and risky move while others prefer to say it is a wise decision taken by the country. However the action taken by South Africa is a fait accompli and the country should plan ahead and understand the needs of its national interests and foreign policy to achieve its goals. / Thesis (M. Soc Sc (International Relations) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2013

The researcher aimed to answer the following question: What are the perceptions of preadolescent children and educators with regard to the phenomenon of acting-out behaviour? The goal of the study was to explore the perceptions of educators and pre-adolescent children on the phenomenon of acting-out behaviour. Pre-adolescence and socio-economic problems were discussed and behavioural theories, behavioural difficulties and acting-out behaviour were explored. The population consisted of educators and grade 5 to grade 7 learners in the two participating schools. Ten educators and twenty learners in each grade were selected by means of stratified random sampling, to participate in the study. The survey design was utilised, as the researcher wished to explore perceptions of educators and pre-adolescent learners on the phenomenon of acting-out behaviour. The researcher formulated two questionnaires that were reader-friendly to both educators and learners respectively. The questionnaires focused on aspects of acting-out behaviour observed in the developmental level which is of concern to the study. Research results have indicated that acting-out behaviour is an ever-increasing phenomenon, even though the term “acting-out” is relatively unknown. The educators and learner respondents had very similar views on acting-out behaviour and the reasons for this negative behaviour displayed by children. It can therefore be concluded that acting-out behaviour is perceived as being very real in the lives of today’s children and is very often regarded as problematic behaviour and only addressed as such. Characteristics of actingout behaviour include lying, swearing, aggressiveness, hitting and kicking, badmouthing others, poor school marks, bullying and seeking attention. Parental conflict is the highest cause of emotional problems and consequently behavioural problems in children. The family system is also the most important system in the pre-adolescent’s life. Consequently it is recommended that families need to be considered as a key system in the development of acting-out behaviour, but most importantly also, as a key factor in dealing with such behaviour. Further research on, especially, intervention methods with regard to acting-out behaviour and socio-economic factors are recommended and emphasised. Copyright / Dissertation (MSW)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

Tehran, the capital of Iran has undergone major urbanization in the last century, which has caused uncontrollable urban growth. Poor regulation and control of this growth has given rise to environmental problems including high air and water pollution. In turn, this has led to urban growth towards the mountains in the north, where the environment is better. However, this pressure to develop in the north has increased segregation of the city and created a clear social division of class between the northern and southern parts of the City. In light of this, and in the context of Tehran as an extremely dense city with limited green space, the City sees a possibility in transforming an unused military airport in the southern districts of the city into a new urban park. This master thesis explores how to reclaim the 270Ha former airfield and develop it as an urban park with strengthened links to surrounding neighbourhoods. The work aims to gain an understanding of how large vacant areas can become successful public areas and green places in the community. The work is based on urban theory and site analysis and brings forward design proposals for the park. Analysis work is divided into an investigative and exploratory stage. The investigative part includes literature studies, data collection and mapping of the city’s urban morphological development, taking into account physical and socio-economic processes. The exploratory part consisted of inventories, site studies and interviews in Tehran, as well as integration analysis with space syntax to explore accessibility and connections in the new park. Throughout the study shows how and why the city has evolved and highlights a connection between living in the southern districts, which are low-income areas, with also having poor access to public and recreation areas. This analysis forms the foundations for the design proposal, visualizations and programs presented about how the area can be designed as a new urban city park. In conclusion, the study highlights that in order to be able to develop new places or renew existing area’s, consideration must be given to urban morphological development. This includes the socio-economic and socio-ecological process. It further concludes, that a ecological viewpoint together with a understanding of the physical environment, the urban landscape identity and the need of people in the context needs to be brought together to plan and create parks and urban spaces