LA-UR-09-02500A wide range of theories - resilience theory and the study of complex adaptive systems, for example - are advancing our understanding of anthropological systems. Recently, anthropologists have applied the panarchy framework to study socionatural systems. This framework allows researchers to assess growth, conservation, release, and reorganization in this nested-cycle model that operates simultaneously at multiple spatio-temporal scales. The long time-depth of the archaeological record is a critical factor in our ability to investigate human behavior within the panarchy's set of nested adaptive cycles.Archaeological investigation in the US Southwest has focused on processes of aggregation and culture change due to varying environmental and social conditions; the Pajarito Plateau, NM, has been the subject of archaeological research since the late 1800s. The Los Alamos National Laboratory portion of the Plateau has been thoroughly surveyed for cultural resources, but has received less attention by scholars than surrounding areas, including Bandelier National Monument. I use the panarchy framework to build a model of Puebloan settlement, land use, demography, and adaptation to assess the utility of the panarchy model for anthropological systems and fill a void in archaeologists' understanding of the Puebloan Southwest.I analyze patterns of residential and agricultural land use during the Rio Grande Coalition and Classic periods (A.D. 1150-1600) for the Pajarito Plateau. I conclude that there is no major change in the use of various landscape ranges between these periods. I reconstruct regional Puebloan momentary population and investigate recent evidence that supports a San Juan Basin source of the dramatic population increase during the Late Coalition. I also investigate aggregation into large plaza pueblos, the development of craft specialization, agricultural intensification, architectural change, and increased participation in the wider Rio Grande marketplace economy as responses of households, clans, villages, and the entire Pajarito population to the highly fluctuating climate of the local landscape. I address these results within the panarchy framework. Further, I argue that the Pajarito Plateau system continued after the population dispersed into the Rio Grande Valley below, to be closer to reliable sources of water and the growing Rio Grande economy.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a chronic disabling condition that results from exposure to traumatic stress. However, although trauma is fairly common, PTSD will only occur in a small proportion of people. This suggests that resilience is a common response to trauma. The neurobiology underlying this adaptive response is thought to involve reward related areas as well as reward functions. This dissertation proposes that reward and reward-related areas have a role in anxiety disorders such as PTSD. This hypothesis was explored using an animal model of PTSD as well as a human mode of psychosical stress. The hypothesis that the ventral tegmental area (VTA), crucial for reward processing, is part of the neural circuitry involved in the symptomatology of PTSD was explored. To assess the role of VTA in PTSD, cells in this area were reversibly inactivated during a single exposure to inescapable foot-shock in a rodent model. Animals that underwent inactivation of VTA neurons decreased avoidance and lowered long-term anxiety-like behaviors in comparison with control groups. To assess short- and long-term electrophysiological effects of trauma on VTA cells, in vivo extracellular recordings were conducted. Results showed that the firing frequency of VTA cells changed both in the short- and long-term, following shock procedures. A human model of psychosical stress was used to test the hypothesis that the ability to respond appropriately to positive stimuli is important for the preservation of positive emotions following stressful events. The results show a positive correlation between trait resilience and trait reward sensitivity. To investigate the link between resilience and reward sensitivity further, the empirical portion of this study used a Monetary Incentive Delay Task (MID) to measure reward sensitivity before and after exposure to a psychosocial stressor. Moreover, behavioral reward sensitivity (as measured by MID and self-report satisfaction after the reward task) also correlated positively with trait and behaviorally measured resilience. The results shown in this dissertation suggest that the neural circuits involved in reward processing and reward function may be involved in resilient responses to stress.

One of the most serious phenomena plaguing families and societies worldwide is teenage pregnancy. In South Africa teenage mothers are permitted to return to schools after giving bith however, not much is done to support these mothers in order to ensure that they are not psychosocially vulnerable and not drop out of school due to possible stress, frustration and lack of scholastic progress. This is where this study is located. This was a Qualitative study that used symbolic drawings accompanied by short descriptive narratives and individual, semi-structured interviews as data collection methods. The study involved 10 teenage mothers who had been re-admitted to schools after giving birth. The participants were aged 15 and 16 and is grades 9 and 10. The findings show that teenage mothers enjoyed family support, had dreams for the future, were anchored in religion and spirituality, had determination and that they had abilities to learn from mistakes. I could not locate a study that had focused on the typical vulnerabilities and empowerment of teenage mothers. Therefore, this study provides useful insight into the factors that are known to render young girls vulnerable to teenage pregnancy and the resultant motherhood and the personal and exological processes that combine in complex ways in order to enable young mothers to cope resiliently. The findings add to theory and have implications for practice / Thesis (MEd (Learner Support))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

The purpose of this study was to explore what contributes to resilience in females diagnosed with Fragile X Syndrome. Fragile X Syndrome can be defined as an inherited (genetic) condition that causes mental impairment, attention deficit and hyperactivity, anxiety and unstable mood, autistic behaviours, hyper-extensible joints, and seizures. I became aware of Fragile X Syndrome during my time as a live-in caretaker to an adolescent female who was diagnosed with Fragile X Syndrome. Because she coped with her disability so resiliently, I was encouraged to explore what contributes to resilience in females diagnosed with Fragile X Syndrome. I followed a qualitative approach, anchored in the interpretivist paradigm. This means that I tried to understand the resilience of females diagnosed with Fragile X Syndrome through the meanings that the participants in my study assigned to them. Furthermore, I worked from a transformative paradigm, which meant that I was interested in changing the traditionally negative ways in which females diagnosed with Fragile X Syndrome are seen. I followed a multiple case study approach, which included four case studies. I conveniently selected the first participant, but realised that convenience sampling was not very credible for a qualitative case study. An Advisory Panel was then used to purposefully recruit three more participants. In order to explore what contributed to their resilience, I made use of interviews, observations, and visual data collection. I also interviewed adults (e.g. parents, teachers and consulting psychologists) who were significantly involved in the lives of my participants. My findings suggest that resilience in females with Fragile X Syndrome is rooted in protective processes within the individual as well as within her family and environment. Because my findings do not point to one specific resource, my study underscores newer understandings of resilience as an Eco systemic transaction. Most of the resilience-promoting resources noted by the participants in my study as contributing to their resilience have been identified as resilience-promoting in previous studies. Although the themes that emerged in my study have been reported in resilience previously, I make a contribution to theory because I link traditional resilience-promoting resources to resilience in females diagnosed with Fragile X Syndrome. Peer support was previously reported as a resilience-promoting resource, but in my study I noticed that the main source of peer support came from peers who were also disabled. Furthermore, my study transforms how we see females diagnosed with Fragile X Syndrome. This transformation encourages communities and families to work together towards resilience in females diagnosed with Fragile X Syndrome. / Ph.D, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2011

In South Africa, January 2011 was characterised by above average rainfall which resulted in many provinces being flooded. On the 17th of January 2011, the government of South Africa declared the City of Tshwane a National Disaster Area. It is in the city of Tshwane where a hotel was flooded causing great damage and disruption to the lives of the hotel workers. Given the lack of existing research focusing on the social dimensions of natural disasters, this provided an opportunity to study the social impact of the flood on the community of hotel workers at a Pretoria hotel. Four sub-aims were set for the study, which involved an exploration of the strengths that were exhibited, discovered or developed as a result of the flood; investigating the subjective experiences in relation to the flood; exploring the interactional patterns and relationships of the hotel workers; as well as investigating how the leadership of the hotel impacted on the manner in which the hotel workers dealt with the flood. A qualitative methodology, guided by a social constructivist epistemology was adopted as basis for the study. Data was gathered by means of individual semi-structured interviews, semi-structured questionnaires, and a focus group interview with a number of employees at the hotel. The data was subjected to qualitative content and grounded theoretical analysis. Five main themes emerged from the analysis, which include: Emotional responses, which included negative emotions such as shock, fear, frustration and anger, as well as positive emotions such as happiness and appreciation; a variety of interactional patterns and relationships; increased cohesiveness; enhanced leadership, and the development of group resilience. / MA, Medical Sociology, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012

This phenomenological study explored how physical activity is experienced as a means for resilience as well as the defining characteristics and meaning of that experience. Four participants were interviewed, aged 18 to 21 years; all of which were receiving a university education at the time of the interviews. Physical activity has been connected to various physical, intellectual, psychological, and social benefits during adolescence. The participants in this study described their journeys to achieving wellness despite growing up with adversities collectively deemed as adverse. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was the methodology utilized to investigate the data generated through several semi-structured in depth interviews with the participants. The analyzed data formed the overarching theme of self development in the face of adversity, which was evident throughout the three superordinate themes: channeling energy, nurturing relationships, and challenging the self. The participants explained their passages through adolescence amidst adversities to be ones full of ups and downs, but ultimately progress towards their current accomplishments, goals, dreams, and personal growth. The themes are discussed within the context of the current literature and then followed by recommendations for future research, considerations for professionals, and a conclusion including words of wisdom from the participants.

The world of work in South Africa has and is still changing. These changes include the introduction of the Employment Equity Act, Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment and the advancement in technologies. In addition, South Africa is now a globalised country and this means that it is faced with the challenge of keeping up with the trends of doing business and working in line with other globalised countries. The effect of tllis in the teaching environment may be linked to the high demands and changes placed on teachers. They have to increase the standard of education and change old ways of teaching. With these rapid changes and demands teachers may feel that they are not competent enough and have limited resources to achieve what it is expected of them by the Government. Consequently, this causes a feeling of job insecurity amongst teachers, especially when they feel that what the government is demanding of them do not compare to the resources available. Job insecurity has an influence on the individual as well as the organisation. On the individual's side, it results in reduced levels of psychological well-being characterised by incidents such as anxiety, social dysfunction, irritation and strain-related psychosomatic complaints. With regard to the organisation, some individuals psychologically withdraw from the job or the whole organisation when they experience a feeling of job insecurity. In addition, there is an increase in absenteeism. Although a feeling of job insecurity is a reality in thc South African world of work, only limited numbers of programmes are implemented to address the problem. To overcome a feeling of job insecurity, employees need to be resilient. When faced with challenges, stressful events and changes individuals cope and adapt in varied ways and show varying degrees of resilience. Furthermore, there is a lack of research on the relationship between job insecurity, general health and resilience of teachers in South Africa. The objective of this study was to determine whether a relationship exist between job insecurity, general health and resilience. The cross-sectional research design was used with a survey technique to collect data from an available random sample of teachers in the Sedibeng West District. The measuring battery consisted of four questionnaires namely; a Job Insecurity Questionnaire (JIQ), 28-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), Resilience Scale (RS) and a Biographical Questionnaire. A positive correlation was obtained between job insecurity and psychological distress, suggesting that increased levels of job insecurity are associated with increased levels of psychological distress. Negative correlations were found between job insecurity and resilience as well as resilience and general health, suggesting that individuals who have high levels of resilience also have low levels on job insecurity and psychological distress respectively. A statistically significant difference was found on job insecurity with regard to cultural groups and the employment contract of teachers. Conclusions were drawn from the findings and recommendations were made for the Department of Education and future research. / The world of work in South Africa has and is still changing. These changes include the introduction of the Employment Equity Act, Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment and the advancement in technologies. In addition, South Africa is now a globalised country and this means that it is faced with the challenge of keeping up with the trends of doing business and working in line with other globalised countries. The effect of this in the teaching environment may be linked to the high demands and changes placed on teachers. They have to increase the standard of education and change old ways of teaching. With these rapid changes and demands teachers may feel that they are not competent enough and have limited resources to achieve what it is expected of them by the Government. Consequently, this causes a feeling of job insecurity amongst teachers, especially when they feel that what the government is demanding of them do not compare to the resources available. Job insecurity has an influence on the individual as well as the organisation. On the individual's side, it results in reduced levels of psychological well-being characterised by incidents such as anxiety, social dysfunction, irritation and strain-related psychosomatic complaints. With regard to the organisation, some individuals psychologically withdraw from the job or the whole organisation when they experience a feeling of job insecurity. In addition, there is an increase in absenteeism. Although a feeling of job insecurity is a reality in the South African world of work, only limited numbers of programmes are implemented to address the problem. To overcome a feeling of job insecurity, employees need to be resilient. When faced with challenges, stressful events and changes individuals cope and adapt in varied ways and show varying degrees of resilience. Furthermore, there is a lack of research on the relationship between job insecurity, general health and resilience of teachers in South Africa. The objective of this study was to determine whether a relationship exist between job insecurity, general health and resilience. The cross-sectional research design was used with a survey technique to collect data from an available random sample of teachers in the Sedibeng West District. The measuring battery consisted of four questionnaires namely; a Job Insecurity Questionnaire (JIQ), 28-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), Resilience Scale (RS) and a Biographical Questionnaire. A positive correlation was obtained between job insecurity and psychological distress, suggesting that increased levels of job insecurity are associated with increased levels of psychological distress. Negative correlations were found between job insecurity and resilience as well as resilience and general health, suggesting that individuals who have high levels of resilience also have low levels on job insecurity and psychological distress respectively. A statistically significant difference was found on job insecurity with regard to cultural groups and the employment contract of teachers. Conclusions were drawn from the findings and recommendations were made for the Department of Education and future research. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2008.

This empirical research study focuses on the qualities of resilient adolescents in a technical school. The study indicates why some adolescents in a technical school are resilient, while other adolescents in this technical school are not resilient. Thirty resilient and thirty non-resilient adolescents in a technical school were chosen to participate in the empirical study. The empirical study consisted of quantitative research (a questionaire that was completed by the sixty adolescents), and qualitative research (three chosen resilient adolescents took part in an interview). This study is therefore a mixed methods study. The conclusions of the study were supported by the literature. The qualities of the resilient adolescent in a technical school are similar to the qualities of resilient adolescents in other contexts. Resilient adolescents in this technical school were characterized by protective factors and processes that had their roots in the individual, the community, culture and relationships. This study is an explorative study. More rigorous research is needed before this study's findings can be generalised. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2008.

In the landscape of the 21st century, where competition in the financial sector is growing even more intense, the future will belong to those organisations that harness the power and potential of their human capital. It is the one huge reservoir left largely untapped, and those organisations which do this the best will be the business winners of this century. It makes sense then that different ways on how best to utilise and develop human capital for use as leverage in the competitive arena of the workplace should be investigated. Consequently, as an alternative to getting hindered by the swirling negativity and challenges, it was proposed that a positive approach is needed. It is believed that building positive psychological capacities within organisational contexts will be a powerful means of assisting South African organisations and employees to meet their new paradigm challenges. This will aid he successful transformation and augmentation and contribute to a truly ideal "Rainbow Nation" for South Africa. The researcher believes that this can be done by drawing from the positive psychology movement, where specifically selecting and developing certain positive psychological capacities may lead to desirable performance outcomes. The objective of the research was to determine if there was a relationship between positive psychological capacities (hope, optimism, resilience, self-efficacy), psychological empowerment and job performance of employees in a financial organisation. A correlational survey design was used. The study population (n = 155) consisted of call centre employees in a financial environment in Gauteng. The State Hope Scale, Life Orientation Inventory -Revised, Resilience Scale, Self-Efficacy Scale, Measuring Empowerment Questionnaire and a biographical questionnaire were used as measuring instruments. Cronbach alpha coefficients, factor analysis, Pearson product moment correlation coefficients and stepwise multiple regression analysis were used to evaluate the data. It was found that the research group was experiencing above average levels of hope and average/moderate levels of optimism. The study also revealed that high levels of resilience and self-efficacy, as well as above average levels of psychological empowerment were being experienced by the respondents. Correlation analyses reveal a statistical and practically significant positive relationship between hope and job performance. A statistically significant relationship was found between optimism and job performance and self-efficacy and job performance. However, no statistical or practically significant relationship was found to exist between resilience and job performance and between psychological empowerment and job performance. With regards to the relationships between the constructs, correlation analyses yielded a statistical and practically significant relationship between hope and optimism, hope and resilience, hope and self-efficacy, and hope and psychological empowerment. There is also a practical and statistically significant relationship between optimism and resilience; self-efficacy and resilience and between optimism and self-efficacy. However, no practically significant relationship was found between resilience and psychological empowerment and between self-efficacy and psychological empowerment. This study also investigated if the positive psychological capacities of hope, optimism, resilience and self-efficacy and psychological empowerment, could be used to predict job performance. It was found that hope, optimism and self-efficacy can be used to predict job performance. Resilience however was found not to be a predictor of job performance. Finally this study investigated if psychological empowerment could be used to predict job performance and it was found that psychological empowerment was unfortunately found not to be predictor of job performance. Finally, recommendations were made for the organisation under study, as well as for future research purposes. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2008

This Thesis explored a range of approaches to study the uncertainty and impacts associated with climate change at the farm scale in Scotland. The research objective was to use a process of uncertainty evaluation and simulation modelling to provide evidence of how primary production components of agriculture in Scotland may change under a future climate. The work used a generic Integrated Modelling Framework to structure the following sequence of investigations: Evaluate a Regional Climate Model‟s hindcast estimates (1960-1990) against observed weather data; Develop bias correction „downscaling factors‟ to be applied to the Regional Climate Model‟s future estimates; Evaluate the impacts of weather data sources (observed and modelled) on estimates made by a cropping systems model (CropSyst); Estimate values for a range of agro-meteorological metrics using observed and estimated downscaled future weather data; Simulate spring barley and winter wheat growth using CropSyst with observed and modelled weather data; Develop CropSyst in order to represent grass growth, evaluate estimates against a set of a priori criteria and determine suitability for use in a whole farm model. Conduct counter-factual assessments of the impacts of climate change and potential adaptation options using a whole farm model (LADSS). The study aimed to use tools on a spectrum of land use modelling complexity: agro-meteorological metrics (simple), CropSyst (intermediate), and the whole-farm integrated model (complex). Such an approach had a path dependency, in that to use the livestock system model component within the whole farm model, CropSyst had to make estimates of an acceptable quality for grass production. CropSyst however failed to meet the a priori evaluation criteria. This, coupled with technical and time constraints in running LADSS, led to the decision not to run the whole farm model. The findings were organised within the concepts of resilience and adaptive capacity. Results gained showed that the HadRM3 Regional Climate Model was capable of making both good and poor estimates of weather variables in the UK, and that downscaling improved the match between hindcast and observed weather data significantly. A sensitivity analysis involving introducing uncertainty from weather data sources within CropSyst showed that care was needed in interpreting estimates of future crop production. The agro-meteorological metrics indicated that whilst growing season length increases, the date of end of field capacity does not. The projected changes in crop production will likely be more positive if crop responses to elevated CO2 are considered. However, there will be additional constraints on crop growth due to increases in duration and magnitude of periods of growth limiting soil water deficits. Without adaptation to crop varieties with slower phenological development, yield decreases are seen in spring barley and winter wheat. The thesis concludes, whilst recognising the caveats and limitations of the methods used and the multiple range of external influencing issues, that the biophysical impacts at the farm scale in Scotland are within the boundaries of resilience, given that achievable adaptation options exist and are undertaken. The dynamics of farm scale management will need to adjust to cope with higher levels of water stress, but opportunities will also arise for greater flexibility in land use mixes. Crop yield can increase due to more favourable growing conditions and cultivar adaptations. These conclusions, when placed within the context of climate change impacts and adaptive cycles at a global scale, indicate that agriculture in Scotland has the potential to cope with the impacts but that substantial changes are required in farming practices.