This research explores the concept of positive and negative behaviour in a Malaysian context and strategies used by secondary school teachers to promote positive behaviour. It also examines strategies that are perceived to be effective and possible factors that have influenced professionals’ attitudes towards positive behaviour. Mixed-method research design was used to complete three different stages. Stage 1 analysed 91 government circulars using content analysis; Stage 2 involved administering a survey to a total of 319 professionals including principals, counsellors and teachers and 494 pupils aged 16 years from 15 selected national secondary schools; Stage 3 focused on two case studies in two selected schools where classroom observations, individual interviews with professionals, and focus groups with pupils were the focal point. Statistical analysis included descriptive and inferential analysis (a chi squared test), while narrative data was analysed by using a thematic approach. Observational data was analysed manually by focusing on the frequency of target behaviour. This study proposes a Socio-ecological Model suggesting that interaction within and between ecological layers constructs the concept of positive and negative behaviour. This study also suggests that bonding and bridging social capital would improve pupil behaviour and develop school community. Findings also suggest that socio-cultural factors and professional experience have influenced professionals’ attitudes towards positive behaviour enhancement strategies. Implications for policy making, practitioners, and future research are also discussed. The research also offers recommendations which could inform policy formulation and further longitudinal research activity.

Sexual abuse of children is a reality that occurs in communities on a daily basis. In a specific informal settlement in Buffalo City, where the researcher has previously worked as social worker, statistics showed that children in their early childhood are the most vulnerable to sexual abuse. The parents' socio-economic circumstances lead to inadequate protection and security for their minor children, making them vulnerable to sexual abuse. Research shows that each community has specific risk and protection factors in respect of sexual abuse. The aim of this study was to explore and describe through a descriptive, qualitative design the risk factors that contribute to sexual abuse of children in a particular informal settlement in Buffalo City. The research question for the study reads as follows: What are the risk factors that contribute to sexual abuse of children in a particular informal settlement in Buffalo City? Sixteen participants were interviewed by means of semi-structured one-on-one interviews. Purposeful, non-probability sampling was used to select parents or caregivers of children who were sexually abused as well as community leaders in the community to participate in the interviewing. Detailed reflections were ob tained from participants of their perceptions of contributing risk factors that left the children vulnerable. These interviews were conducted with the use of an interview schedule that was compiled in accordance with a literature study and thereafter tested. The methods that were use to capture data were interviewing, observations, reflections and fieldnotes. The interviews were transcribed for the purposes of data analysis and were analysed according to the steps of Creswell (2009). The ecological system perspective has served as the theoretical framework for this study, and five themes were identified in this context. These themes were divided into sub-themes and categories, and were discussed with relevant narratives. The narratives were obtained from the transcripts. Finally, the findings were checked and verified against existing literature. The results can be summarised as follows: i. According to the findings, risk factors that contribute to the preschool child as an individual being vulnerable to sexual abuse is leaving the child alone at home without adequate supervision or the inability of parents or caregivers to provide adequately for the child’s basic needs. ii. Inadequate parenting was identified as a contributing risk factor on micro level. iii. Apathy among neighbours due to the absence of ubuntu was a contributing risk factor on meso level. iv. Inadequate programmes by social service organisations to preschool children were contributing risk factors on the eco systemic level. v. Finally, poverty and inadequate infrastructure were contributing risk factors within the community as macro system. / Thesis (MSW)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Sexual abuse of children is a reality that occurs in communities on a daily basis. In a specific informal settlement in Buffalo City, where the researcher has previously worked as social worker, statistics showed that children in their early childhood are the most vulnerable to sexual abuse. The parents' socio-economic circumstances lead to inadequate protection and security for their minor children, making them vulnerable to sexual abuse. Research shows that each community has specific risk and protection factors in respect of sexual abuse. The aim of this study was to explore and describe through a descriptive, qualitative design the risk factors that contribute to sexual abuse of children in a particular informal settlement in Buffalo City. The research question for the study reads as follows: What are the risk factors that contribute to sexual abuse of children in a particular informal settlement in Buffalo City? Sixteen participants were interviewed by means of semi-structured one-on-one interviews. Purposeful, non-probability sampling was used to select parents or caregivers of children who were sexually abused as well as community leaders in the community to participate in the interviewing. Detailed reflections were ob tained from participants of their perceptions of contributing risk factors that left the children vulnerable. These interviews were conducted with the use of an interview schedule that was compiled in accordance with a literature study and thereafter tested. The methods that were use to capture data were interviewing, observations, reflections and fieldnotes. The interviews were transcribed for the purposes of data analysis and were analysed according to the steps of Creswell (2009). The ecological system perspective has served as the theoretical framework for this study, and five themes were identified in this context. These themes were divided into sub-themes and categories, and were discussed with relevant narratives. The narratives were obtained from the transcripts. Finally, the findings were checked and verified against existing literature. The results can be summarised as follows: i. According to the findings, risk factors that contribute to the preschool child as an individual being vulnerable to sexual abuse is leaving the child alone at home without adequate supervision or the inability of parents or caregivers to provide adequately for the child’s basic needs. ii. Inadequate parenting was identified as a contributing risk factor on micro level. iii. Apathy among neighbours due to the absence of ubuntu was a contributing risk factor on meso level. iv. Inadequate programmes by social service organisations to preschool children were contributing risk factors on the eco systemic level. v. Finally, poverty and inadequate infrastructure were contributing risk factors within the community as macro system. / Thesis (MSW)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Les catastrophes naturelles au nord-est de l’Inde, tout comme dans le reste du monde, attirent régulièrement l’attention des médias. Au-delà des interventions d’urgence, il s’avère nécessaire de prendre du recul afin de mieux cerner l’origine des évènements et les stratégies d’adaptation déployées par les populations pour y faire face. Suivant une approche interdisciplinaire mêlant hydro-géomorphologie, éco-anthropologie et political ecology, cette thèse apporte un éclairage nouveau sur les dynamiques du Brahmapoutre, les interactions sociétés-milieux et la gestion des risques dans une région peu étudiée. En Assam, chaque année au cours de la mousson, le fleuve Brahmapoutre entre en crue et déborde dans sa plaine, déposant sur son passage des sédiments sableux et des limons fertiles. Dans cet espace densément peuplé, les Mising - population originaire de l’Himalaya oriental, Scheduled Tribe d’Assam - ont longtemps adapté leurs modes de vie à ce milieu dynamique. Au rythme du fleuve, les Mising pratiquent plusieurs types de riziculture, utilisent différentes techniques de pêche et déplacent leurs villages dans les espaces exposés aux inondations en suivant le mouvement des chenaux. Or, en 1950, un séisme majeur provoqua d’importantes modifications de l’hydrosystème fluvial, bouleversant ce système socio-écologique fragile. Pour contrôler le Brahmapoutre et mettre en valeur les territoires, la région connut dès le XIIe siècle des programmes d’endiguement et d’administration foncière sur la rive sud. À partir de 1954, l’État d’Assam étendit l’endiguement de part et d’autre du lit mineur. Ces aménagements incitèrent les communautés paysannes à se sédentariser dans les périmètres protégés en les contraignant à respecter les nouvelles délimitations foncières. Toutefois, depuis 1988, des ruptures de digues soudaines ont été à l’origine d’inondations récurrentes dans les espaces censés être protégés, tandis que l’érosion se poursuit, emportant les terres de plusieurs villages des subdivisions de Bokakhat, Majuli et Dhakuakhana, objets de cette thèse. L’objectif général de cette thèse est de montrer – à l’aide d’exemples pris dans trois localités – comment les aménagements fluviaux et les politiques foncières ont provoqué une crise sociale et environnementale obligeant les Mising à réajuster leurs pratiques agricoles tout en renégociant leur place au sein de la société et du territoire assamais. Ainsi, à Bokakhat, les Mising négocient leurs droits d’accès aux ressources avec les autorités du parc national de Kaziranga ; à Majuli, ils travaillent pour les institutions religieuses vaishnavites et les propriétaires terriens assamais ; à Dhakuakhana, certains d’entre eux se réfugient illégalement sur les débris de digues et espèrent que leurs terres pourront redevenir fertiles, tandis que d’autres émigrent. Dans ces situations socio-économiques distinctes, les Mising adoptent différentes stratégies socioreligieuses. Ils sont partagés entre ceux qui souhaitent s’insérer au sein de la société assamaise en adoptant les cultes vaishnavites localement dominants, ceux qui envisagent d’accéder au monde globalisé par une conversion au christianisme, et ceux qui affirment une identité tribale en faisant revivre des cultes plus anciens. En représentant l’ensemble de la communauté devant l’État d’Assam, les organisations politiques mising demandent plus d’autonomie territoriale vis-à-vis de Delhi. Un projet néanmoins difficile à mettre en œuvre, car les villages mising sont dispersés parmi ceux d’autres communautés d’Assam. Dans quelle mesure ces stratégies permettront-elles aux Mising de maintenir leurs capacités d'adaptation dans un milieu changeant ? / Natural disasters in Northeast India and in the rest of the world regularly attract media’s attention. Besides an emergency response to these events, it is necessary to distance oneself from the disaster in order to acquire a better understanding of the cause of the events and the coping strategies adopted by the population. Following on an interdisciplinary approach combining disciplines such as hydro-geomorphology, eco-anthropology and political ecology, this thesis sheds new light on the dynamics of the Brahmaputra River, the socio-environmental interactions and risk management in an area where few studies have been conducted.In Assam, every year during the monsoon, the level of the Brahmaputra River rises and overflows into the floodplain, covering sandy land and carrying fertile silts. In this densely populated area, the Mising tribe - a group from the eastern Himalayas, a scheduled tribe of Assam - has for long time managed to adapt its way of life to this dynamic environment. The Misings practise several types of rice cultivation; use different fishing techniques and move their villages according to the flow of the braided river’s channels. However, in 1950, a major earthquake brought about important modifications in the river’s hydrosystem, seriously upsetting this fragile socio-ecological system. Embankments have been built and land has been administrated on the south bank of the Brahmaputra since the twelfth century to control the river and to establish territories. But since 1954, the State of Assam has extended the embankments on both sides of the river. These infrastructures have encouraged farming communities to settle on these new protected lands, forcing them to respect cadastral boundaries. However, since 1988, breaches in the embankment have frequently led to flash floods, while erosion has caused land belonging to several villages in Majuli, Bokakhat and Dhakuakhana subdivisions, which are discussed in this thesis, to be washed away. The main objective of this thesis is to demonstrate — using examples from these three territories — how river engineering and rigid administrative boundaries have led to a social and environmental crisis that leaves the Misings no option but to adjust their agricultural practices and to adopt various strategies to negotiate their space on Assamese land and within Assamese society. Thus, in Bokakhat, the Misings negotiate their right to access resources with the Kaziranga National Park authorities; in Majuli, they work as farmers for Vaishnavite religious institutions and Assamese landowners; in Dhakuakhana, some of them take shelter illegally on portions of the embankment in the hope that their land will be restored to them, while others choose to migrate. In these distinct socio-economical conditions, they are divided into those who are assimilated into Assamese society through Vaishnavite cults, those who have converted to Christianity, which is gaining a foothold in the globalized world, and those who defend their tribal identity and who are reviving ancient faith. Finally, Mising political organizations are claiming to the State of Assam and to Delhi for more territorial autonomy. This would be a difficult undertaking as their villages are scattered among the other communities of Assam. To what extent these strategies will help the Misings to maintain their adaptability in a changing environment?

La préservation des écosystèmes et la performance économique des organisations sont souvent mises en opposition. Ecosystèmes et organisations sont cependant interdépendants et peuvent être appréhendés comme constitutifs d’un même système socio-écologique (SSE). Notre objectif est d’identifier les instruments permettant le respect des contraintes de viabilité environnementales et économiques des SSE que nous proposons : la résilience écologique et la profitabilité des organisations. Après avoir souligné la faiblesse environnementale des instruments de régulation traditionnels néoclassiques, nous évaluons l’efficacité de deux autres catégories d’outils, récents et souvent plébiscités. Les approches volontaires étudiées permettent généralement de garantir la viabilité économique des organisations, mais leurs objectifs environnementaux, dont l’atteinte est variable, ignorent souvent la complexité des écosystèmes. Parmi les comptabilités environnementales, celles qui relèvent d’instruments de régulation néoclassiques poursuivent des objectifs écologiquement inappropriés, alors que les approches hétérodoxes sont plus en phase avec nos contraintes écologiques mais supposent une réforme profonde des conventions comptables. Ces résultats nous incitent à élaborer un modèle de gestion environnementale permettant d’assurer la viabilité des SSE à plus court terme. Il repose, pour son efficacité écologique, sur une démarche de gestion adaptative à l’échelle territoriale. Les désavantages compétitifs susceptibles d’apparaître sont mis en évidence par des comptabilités appropriées, et ces situations sont optimisées via la mise en œuvre de processus redistributifs adaptés. / Ecosystems’ preservation and the economic performance of organisations are often considered to be antagonistic. Nevertheless, ecosystems and organisations are interdependent, and they can be seen as part of the same social-ecological system (SES). The goal of our research is to identify the tools that ensure that the SES environmental and economic viability constraints we provide (i.e. ecological resilience and organisations’ profitability) are observed. After highlighting the ecological weakness of conventional neoclassical regulatory tools, we measure the effectiveness of two other categories of tools that have appeared recently and are often praised. The voluntary approaches analysed generally ensure the economic viability of organisations, but their environmental goals, which are variably reached, often ignore the complexity of ecosystems. Among the environmental accounting approaches, those considered as neoclassical regulatory tools pursue objectives that are ecologically inappropriate, whereas heterodox approaches observe our ecological constraints, but entail a significant reform of accounting policies. These results prompt us to elaborate an environmental management model, set to ensure shorter term SES viability. It lies, for its ecological effectiveness, on an adaptive management approach at the territorial level. The competitive disadvantages which might arise are identified in appropriate accounts, and these situations are addressed with using suitable redistributive processes.

La menace représentée par le changement climatique, et en particulier l’élévation du niveau de la mer, sur les pays entièrement composés d’atolls est largement médiatisée. La République de Kiribati est un pays atollien situé dans l’océan Pacifique, peuplé par 100 000 habitants. Au cours des derniers siècles, les communautés atolliennes de Kiribati ont développé un système de gestion des ressources naturelles qui a assuré leur survie. Depuis quelques décennies, la mondialisation est cause de mutations rapides, en particulier dans le mode de vie et dans la relation des communautés atolliennes à leur environnement naturel. Étant donné le caractère fortement intégré du système sociétal et de l’écosystème dans les atolls, cette thèse aborde la question de l’avenir des pays atolliens dans le contexte du changement climatique par l’étude de la résilience de leurs systèmes socio-écologiques. La résilience d’un système correspond à sa capacité à absorber des perturbations et à se réorganiser tandis qu’il subit des changements tout en conservant la même fonction, structure, identité et les mêmes rétroactions. Cette thèse postule qu’une estimation de la résilience des systèmes socio-écologiques aux perturbations d’origine météo-marine nécessite au préalable une analyse de leur résilience générale. De telles estimations s’appuient sur des modèles conceptuels réalisés à partir de résultats d’entretiens et d’enquêtes menés à Kiribati, et sur l’analyse d’images aériennes. L’avenir des pays atolliens est discuté en envisageant différents scénarios : l’adaptation, la transformation, la migration et l’effondrement. / The threats to states entirely composed of atolls from climate change and associated sea-level rise have been widely publicized. The Republic of Kiribati is an atoll country situated in Pacific Ocean settled by 100,000 inhabitants. Over the past centuries, the atoll communities of Kiribati have developed natural resource management systems that have enabled their survival. Over the past decades, globalization has caused rapid changes, especially regarding lifestyles and relationships of atoll communities to their natural environment. Given the highly integrated nature of the societal system and the ecosystem in the atolls, this thesis addresses the question of the future of atoll countries in the context of climate change by studying the resilience of their social-ecological systems. Resilience is the capacity of a system to absorb disturbance and reorganize while undergoing change so as to still retain essentially the same function, structure, identity, and feedbacks. This thesis postulated that an assessment of social-ecological resilience of climate- and marine-related disturbances required a preliminary analysis of their general resilience. Such assessments are based on conceptual models made from interviews and surveys and from the analysis of aerial imagery. The future of atoll countries is discussed considering different scenario: adaptation, transformation, migration and collapse.

La circulation des flux de matières et d’énergie reflète aussi bien le fonctionnement de la biosphère que celui des sociétés humaines. L’écologie industrielle, dans son approche territoriale, interpelle ces interactions socioécologiques au sein d’un espace géographique et participe ainsi à la définition et à la structuration de l’espace en territoire. Par une approche expérimentale déclinée sur les espaces portuaires, nous cherchons à rendre manifeste, pour la valider et mieux l’appréhender, cette dynamique de configuration du territoire en écologie industrielle. Le territoire constitue une matrice complexe, composée de représentations et de pratiques, manifestées dans le discours des acteurs. A partir de l’étude de 21 cas portuaires d’écologie industrielle à l’échelle internationale, 9 modèles territoriaux ont été proposés pour l’observer et la décrypter. Déclinés dans l’espace portuaire de Marseille-Fos, ces modèles permettent la production et l’interprétation des discours des acteurs de la démarche d’écologie industrielle en vue d’identifier les modalités de construction territoriale à l’œuvre et de construire une configuration du territoire à l’interface des représentations et pratiques des acteurs. Cette expérimentation met en évidence un phénomène d’imbrication territoriale de l’écologie industrielle et la participation de celle-ci à une dynamique territorialité-territorialisation structurante de la construction territoriale. Elle propose ainsi une définition socioécologique du territoire, distinguant des biotopes et des niches occupés par des acteurs, dont les interactions appellent à un renouvellement de la gouvernance portuaire de l’écologie industrielle. / The circulation of material and energy flows reflects the functioning of both biosphere and human societies. Industrial ecology, in its territorial approach, questions these socioecological interactions within a geographical area. It contributes to the definition and structuration of land into territory. Through an experimental approach led upon port areas, the aim is to reveal this dynamic of territorial configuration in industrial ecology. Territory constitutes a complex matrix of representations and practices, uncovered in actors’ speeches. From the analysis of 21 industrial ecology port case studies at an international scale, 9 territorial patterns are defined in order to observe and interprete this dynamic. Implemented in Marseille-Fos port area, these patterns allow the production and the interpretation of actors’ speeches in order to identify the territorial construction modes and to build a common territorial configuration, at the interface of actors’ representations and practices. This experimentation highlights a territorial embeddedness phenomenon for industrial ecology. It reveales industrial ecology’s contribution to a “territoriality-territorialisation” dynamic, leading to territorial configuration. It thus proposes a socioecological definition of territory, identifying biotopes and niches occupied by different actors. The overlapping of these biotopes and niches questions the evolution of port governance for the implementation of industrial ecology.

Food production and consumption is causing environmental harm such as climate change and a decline in ecosystem services. Hence, a transformation of the food system is necessary for humanity’s future well-being. The public meal can be used as a tool for establishing healthy and sustainable eating habits at an early age and contribute to changed dietary choices in the future, yet few municipalities are prioritizing this opportunity. This study uses Södertälje municipality as a case to look at the change process of implementing a sustainable diet concept in preschools, schools, and gymnasiums, with the hope of acquiring knowledge and understanding useful for similar cases of transformation. Using a framework for deliberate social-ecological transformations and data primarily from qualitative interviews, I map the phases of transformation to better understand how agency and opportunity context have been used in navigating the process and identify possible opportunities going forward. Findings show the importance of political support, an integrated organization, and rooting new practices amongst the officials. The motivation and persistence of a key leader was crucial in navigating forward, and the process has been driven by several opportunities such as a political window of opportunity for change and the collaboration with a bridging organization in developing a food concept. It also shows how municipalities can have an important role in changing eating habits and how food-related norms and values can potentially shift and contribute to long-term food system change.

Föreliggande kvalitativa studie visade professionellas beskrivning av hur barnets röst framförs vid nätverksmöten. Studien beskrev även vad som påverkar och vem som bedömer barnets deltagande på ett nätverksmöte. Tio terapeuter vid barn- och ungdomspsykiatrin i sydöstra Sverige intervjuades med hjälp av en semistrukturerad frågeguide. En slutsats är att nätverksmöten så gott som alltid kan anpassas så att barnet kan närvara. Resultatet innehåller därmed inte bara beskrivningar av metoder och tekniker, som kan hjälpa barn att höras, utan också reflektioner kring mötets utformande, för att överhuvudtaget möjliggöra barnfokus. I undersökningen framkom det känslomässiga klimatets betydelse för att barnets röst ska framföras och bli hörd. En annan slutsats är att barnet inte bör närvara i alla möten. Det framkom viss osäkerhet om vem som har det yttersta ansvaret i bedömningen av barnets delaktighet. / The present qualitative study showed descriptions from professionals, how the voice of the child was carried forward during network meetings. The study also described what is influencing and who is judging the child’s participation in a network meeting. Ten therapists at the child- and youth psychiatry department in south-east Sweden were interviewed by means of a semi-structured question guide. One conclusion is that network meetings almost always may be adapted in a way that the child is able to attend. Hence, the result does not only include descriptions of methods and techniques which may assist in listening to the child, but also reflections around the structure of the meeting, in order to, on the whole enabling a child focus. In the investigation an emotional climate appeared to be important in order for the voice of the child to be carried forward and to be understood. Another conclusion was that the child should not attend in all meetings. There appeared some uncertainty about who has the ultimate responsibility in the judgement of the participation of the child.

Syftet med vårt arbete är att bidra med kunskap om vilka uppfattningar specialpedagoger, förskollärare och barnskötare har om lekens betydelse för att främja inkludering av alla barn samt vilket synsätt de har på hur lärmiljön organiseras. Med kvalitativa intervjuer ville vi se hur specialpedagoger, förskollärare och barnskötare såg på lek och inkludering. Vilka likheter och olikheter går det att urskilja i intervjuerna med de olika pedagogerna. Genom att analysera resultatet utifrån ett ekologiskt systemteoretiskt och sociokulturellt perspektiv söker vi svar på våra frågeställningar samt bidrar till en fortsatt undersökning inom forskningsområdet. Vi kunde urskönja att kunskapen om vad inkludering innebär och hur man bäst tillämpar denne i förskoleverksamheter skiljer sig beroende på vilken utbildning pedagogerna har samt vilken erfarenhet pedagogerna har av att använda sig av inkludering och lek. Specialpedagog och förskollärare är de som har ett liknande tänkt angående hur, varför och vad inkludering genom leken innebär. Barnskötare ser det mer konkret och med ett visst här och nu tänkt även om denna grupp har flest antal år i verksamheten totalt. En specialpedagogisk implikation med arbetet kan vara att rektorer i förskolorna inte delar specialpedagoger och andra pedagogers perspektiv, och detta kan i slutända leda till att barn med olika svårigheter kan få en olika och ojämn utbildning. Slutsatsen vi kan dra i vår undersökning är att vilken utsträckning det skapas en inkluderande verksamhet för alla barn beror delvis på pedagogerna och deras syn på området. Specialpedagogerna arbetar aktivt för att ge pedagogerna de verktyg och redskap som behövs för att kunna utföra en så inkluderande lärmiljö som möjligt och anpassa den så lågt som det går för individerna i dem. Pedagogerna upplever det däremot som något otydligt och spretigt där deras tid och till viss del kompentens inte räcker till. / The purpose of our work is to contribute knowledge about the perceptions of educators and special educator about the importance of play in promoting the inclusion of all children and their approach to inclusion. Through a qualitative interview study, we seek answers to our questions. We discern that the knowledge of what inclusion means and how best to apply them in preschool activities differs depending on the education of the educators and what experience the educators have in using inclusion and play. By using bioecological perspectives and sociocultural theory. Special education teachers and preschool teachers are those who have a similar idea of how, why and what inclusion through play means. Childcare workers see it more concretely and with a certain here and now thought even though this group has the most number of years in the business overall. The conclusion we can draw from our study is that the extent to which inclusive activities are created for all children depends in part on the educators and their view of the invironment. A difficulty can be the view teachers have at inclusion and inclusion play. The differntys can lead to an uneaven education for children whit difficulties. A continued survey may be about principals' views on inclusion in preschools.