Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht die Frage, wie die Bürger im Rahmen einer partizipativen Demokratie Einfluss auf die Gestaltung der Politik nehmen können. Dabei wird ermittelt, inwieweit die bürgerliche Partizipation unter der Perspektive der Erwachsenenpädagogik. zur Kompetenzentwicklung auf individuellem und kollektivem Niveau beitragen kann. Der Untersuchung liegt der Studienfall des Politischen Runden Tisches zugrunde, der sich im Jahr 2002 in der Stadt San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentinien, konstituierte. Auffallend für die Autorin, die als Moderatorin an diesem partizipativen Experiment teilhatte, waren die Veränderungen, die sie sowohl bei den Personen als auch bei den teilnehmenden Gruppen und Organisationen beobachtete. Vor dem Hintergrund der Erfahrungen, die in diesem Experiment gemacht wurden, möchte die Arbeit zeigen, wie zivilgesellschaftliche Partizipation zur Wiederherstellung des sozialen Friedens in der Stadt und zur Weiterentwicklung demokratischer Organisationsformen in der Stadtgesellschaft beitragen konnte. Methodologisch gründet sich die Untersuchung auf die Analyse des Studienfalles. Die Arbeit orientierte sich an zwei grundsätzlichen Strategien: Die hermeneutische Herangehensweise zum Verständnis des Kontextes und die qualitativ-empirische Methodik, ausgehend von Experteninterviews mit den Beteiligten und die qualitative Auswertung der dabei vorgenommenen Aufzeichnungen. Die der Untersuchung zugrundeliegende Analyse umfasst drei Dimensionen: Zum ersten die Dimension der individuellen und kollektiven Entwicklung der am partizipativen Prozess Beteiligten; zum zweiten die auf die Rolle der Moderation von Gruppen in partizipativen Prozessen bezogene Dimension; und drittens die Dimension der politisch ausgerichteten Partizipation und deren Auswirkung. In einem erweiterten Kontext gehört dazu die Diskussion der Frage, welchen Beitrag die Erwachsenenpädagogik – und hier insbesondere die erwachsenen¬pädagogische Moderation - zur Unterstützung dieser Prozesse leisten kann. Die Erlangung von individuellen und kollektiven Kompetenzen wird neben dem Erwerb anderer Lerninhalte als essentieller Bestandteil der partizipativen Dynamik wie auch als Ergebnis der partizipativen Prozesse identifiziert. Darauf beruht die Bedeutung der eingesetzten erwachsenenpädagogischen Maßnahmen in allen diversen Organisationsformen, deren Ziel darin besteht, das Profil des Bürgers zu prägen, der in der Lage ist, in vollgültiger Beteiligung auf die Politik einzuwirken und auf diese Weise seine Lebensqualität zu verbessern. Unter der Voraussetzung, dass die Bürger das entsprechende Profil besitzen, das sie zur Partizipation befähigt, werden im weiteren Verlauf die Bedingungen aufgezeigt, die einen erfolgreichen Aufruf zur Partizipation ausmachen und sicherstellen, dass eine effektive Einflussnahme auf die Politik zustande kommt. Damit im Zusammenhang werden Empfehlungen gemacht hinsichtlich der Organisation der Partizipation, sowohl aus dem Blickwinkel des Bürgers wie auch demjenigen der Vertreter der staatlichen Organe. Leitend ist dabei das Ziel, mit Hilfe einer verstärkten Partizipation die Zusammenarbeit zwischen Staat und Zivilgesellschaft herzustellen. Zugleich werden die Herausforderungen identifiziert, die in der Organisationskultur der staatlichen Einrichtungen angegangen werden müssen, damit diese sich in ihrem Management und ihrer Gesetzgebung den Konsequenzen anpassen können, die sich aus der bürgerlichen Partizipation ergeben. Herausgestellt werden insbesondere die Möglichkeiten, die sich in den Nachbarschaftsvereinigungen als der einfachsten Form basisdemokratischer Organisation bieten, um Partizipation zu praktizieren und in die Politik hineinzuwirken. Ihre Stärkung auf dem Wege der Gründung von Einrichtungen bürgerschaftlicher Fortbildung wird als dringende Aufgabe für die Erwachsenenpädagogik erkannt. Zugleich werden mit derselben Blickrichtung Empfehlungen für die Organisationen der Zivilgesellschaft im Allgemeinen wie auch für die politischen Parteien im Besonderen gemacht. Gezeigt wird, wie aus dem Zusammenwirken von Initiativen und Projekten aus unterschiedlichen gesellschaftlichen Sektoren ein Nährboden für die überfällige Veränderung bzw. Neugestaltung politischer Prozesse entstehen kann. Außerdem werden zwei Vorschläge zur Verbesserung des Wahlsystems dargelegt, um zu erreichen, dass dieses mit dem Modell einer partizipativen Demokratie zur Übereinstimmung kommt. Den Moderatoren kommt dabei vor allem die Aufgabe zu, die Lernprozesse der Bürger mit ihren spezifischen Kenntnissen erwachsenenpädagogischer Methodik zu unterstützen. Dies wird erreicht mit Hilfe von Fortbildungsmaßnahmen, die Bestandteil der Planung der partizipativen Prozesse sein müssen. Unter den dabei zu behandelnden Themen ist, wie im Laufe der Arbeit an verschiedenen Stellen gezeigt wird, die Ausübung eines „expansiven“ statt eines „akkumulativen“ Verständnisses von Macht hervorzuheben. Desweiteren ist die Rolle der Moderatoren in der Vorbereitung der Partizipation von Belang hinsichtlich der Herbeiführung von Bedingungen, die eine effiziente und ausgeglichene Partizipation gewährleisten. Im Verlauf des Gruppenprozesses muss der Moderator auf unvorhergesehene Situationen eingehen, wie zum Beispiel aufkommende Spannungen; versteckte Interessen; Erwartungen und Befürchtungen; unterschiedliche Grade von Motivation, Information und Vertrauen; sowie offensichtlich nicht zu vereinbarende Verhaltensmuster. In diesem Zusammenhang werden verschiedene Eingriffe mit dem spezifischen Instrumentarium des Moderators analysiert. Ihnen kommt eine Schlüsselfunktion zu, damit die Teilnehmer den partizipativen Prozess als eine positive und erfolgreiche Erfahrung erleben. Die Aussagen zu den mittelfristigen Perspektiven der Erwachsenenpädagogik beziehen sich auf ihre Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten als Wissenschaft im Zusammenhang mit der Heranbildung eines aktiven und kompetenten Staatsbürgertums. Die Beiträge der Erwachsenenpädagogik zur Entwicklung der Personen, der Gruppen, der Organisationen und der Systeme weisen dieser Wissenschaft eine Hauptrolle als Instrument im Prozess der Demokratieentwicklung zu. / El presente estudio examina la cuestión sobre cómo los ciudadanos pueden incidir en políticas públicas en el contexto de una democracia participativa y qué aporte hace la participación ciudadana al desarrollo de capacidades en los niveles individual y colectivo, desde la perspectiva de la pedagogía de adultos. La investigación se basa en el estudio del caso de la Mesa de Concertación de Políticas Públicas de la ciudad de San Carlos de Bariloche, en Argentina, que se conformó en 2002. A la autora, que participó como moderadora de esta experiencia participativa, le llamaron la atención los cambios que observó en las personas, los grupos, y las organizaciones. En ese marco de experiencias ganadas, el trabajo quiere mostrar cómo la participación de la sociedad civil pudo contribuir a la recuperación de la paz social en la ciudad y al desarrollo de formas de organización de la democracia en la comunidad. La metodología de la investigación se basó en el análisis de caso. El trabajo se guió por dos estrategias fundamentales: El acceso hermenéutico para entender el contexto y el acceso empírico cualitativo, a partir de entrevistas a expertos con los involucrados y el análisis cualitativo de los registros documentales del caso. El análisis de la investigación abarca tres dimensiones. La dimensión I se refiere a los desarrollos individuales y colectivos de quienes participan. La dimensión II analiza el rol de la moderación de grupos en los procesos de participación. La dimensión III aborda el tema de la participación política y su impacto. En un contexto más amplio, tiene lugar la discusión de la pregunta sobre qué contribución puede ofrecer la pedagogía de adultos – y aquí especialmente la moderación desde esa perspectiva – para apoyar esos procesos. La adquisición de capacidades individuales y colectivas, así como la obtención de otros contenidos de aprendizaje son identificadas como parte esencial de la dinámica y también como resultado de los procesos participativos. De allí la importancia de las intervenciones de la pedagogía de adultos en toda forma de organización, con el objetivo de formar el perfil del ciudadano que pueda incidir en política con participación plena, aumentando a través de ello su calidad de vida. Partiendo del hecho de que los ciudadanos tienen el perfil adecuado para participar, se identifican a continuación las condiciones para que sean convocados con éxito y puedan efectivamente influir en política. Se incluyen recomendaciones para la organización de la participación, tanto desde la perspectiva del ciudadano como desde la de los representantes del gobierno. El objetivo es construir cooperación entre el Estado y la sociedad civil, con la ayuda de una participación fortalecida. Al mismo tiempo, se identifican los desafíos que la cultura organizacional tiene que atender en los diferentes estamentos del Estado, para adaptarse a las consecuencias que tiene la participación ciudadana para su gestión y su legislación. Muy especialmente se destacan las posibilidades que ofrecen las juntas vecinales, como organización básica de la democracia, para la práctica de la participación y la incidencia en política. Su fortalecimiento a través de la creación de es¬cuelas de ciudadanía es presentado como una tarea inminente para la pedagogía de adultos. Al mismo tiempo se hacen recomendaciones en la misma línea para las organizaciones sociales en general y los partidos políticos en particular. Se muestra además cómo la sinergia de iniciativas y proyectos de diferentes sectores sociales, puede dar lugar al surgimiento de cambios o reformas adeudadas de procesos políticos. Adicionalmente se incluyen dos propuestas para la mejora del sistema electoral, para que el mismo funcione en coherencia con el modelo de democracia participativa. A los moderadores de los grupos les compete sobre todo apoyar los procesos de aprendizaje de los ciudadanos, con los conocimientos propios del método de la pedagogía de adultos. Esto lo logran a través de acciones de capacitación que deben formar parte del diseño de los procesos participativos. Entre los temas a abordar se enfatiza una comprensión „expansiva“ en lugar de una „acumulativa“ del ejercicio del poder, lo que se muestra en diferentes partes del trabajo. También se destaca el rol de los moderadores en la preparación de la participación, para que estén dadas las condiciones que favorezcan una participación efectiva y equitativa. Durante el proceso grupal, el moderador atiende tensiones, intereses ocultos, expectativas y temores, diferentes niveles de motivación, de información y de confianza, y paradigmas aparentemente irreconciliables. En este contexto, se analizan diferentes intervenciones propias de su técnica que son clave para que el proceso participativo sea vivido por los participantes como una experiencia positiva y exitosa. Los resultados sobre las perspectivas a mediano plazo de la pedagogía de adultos se refieren a sus posibilidades de desarrollo como ciencia en relación con la formación de la ciudadanía. Las contribuciones de la pedagogía de adultos para el desarrollo de las personas, los grupos, las organizaciones y los sistemas le atribuyen a esta ciencia un protagonismo como instrumento en los procesos de desarrollo de la democracia.

Text in Afrikaans / Die Ontwikkelingsgefasiliteerde Groepmodel (OFG-model) is vir die doeleindes van hierdie navorsingstudie aangepas vir adolessente tussen die ouderdom van vyftien en agtien jaar. Die model is gebruik om die betekenisgewing, belewing en die betrokkenheid van 'n groep adolessente wat egskeidingsgetraumatiseerd is te ondersoek. 'n Literatuurstudie is onderneem waarin groepterapie, multikulturele terapie, die adolessent en egskeiding, en die konsepte betekenisgewing, belewing en betrokkenheid nagevors is. 'n Empiriese studie in die vorm van twaalf terapie sassies om die betekenisgewing,belewing, betrokkenheid van die adolessente te ondersoek, is onderneem. Die navorser stel ook vas hoe die proses van terapie met 'n groep multikulturele adolessente verloop. 'n Beplanning van die terapie sessies is gedoen. Ten einde die vertroubaarheid van die navorsing te bepaal, is Guba se model van vertroubaarheid toegepas. Die empiriese studie toon aan dat die Ontwikkelingsgefasiliteerde Groepmodel, terapeuties met sukses gebruik kan word met 'n groep multikulturele adolessente. Die betekenisgewing, belewing, betrokkenheid en die selfkonsep van egskeidingsgetraumatiseerde adolessente kan op die wyse ondersoek word. / The Developmental Facilitation Group Model (DFG-Model) was adapted for the purposes of this research study for adolescents between fifteen and eighteen years of age. The model was used to examine the meaning, experience, and involvement of a group of adolescents traumatised by divorce. A literature study was undertaken to research group therapy, multicultural therapy, the adolescent and divorce and the concepts of meaning, experience, and involvement. An empirical study in the form of twelve therapeutic sessions was undertaken to examine the meaning, experience, and involvement of the adolescents. The researcher also determined how the process of therapy evolved with a group of multicultural adolescents. The therapeutic sessions were planned. To determine the reliability of the research, Guba's model for reliability was applied. The empirical study shows that the Developmental Facilitation Group Model can be used successfully with a group of multicultural adolescents. The meaning, experience, involvement and self-concept of the adolescents traumatised by divorce can be determined in this way. / Psychology of Education / M. Ed. (Voorligting)

Alpine and arctic tree line expansion depends on the establishment of tree seedlings above the current tree line, which is expected to occur with climate warming. However, tree lines often fail to respond to higher temperatures. Other environmental factors are therefore likely important for tree seedling establishment. Above the tree line, establishing seedlings encounter existing vegetation such as bryophytes, which often dominate in arctic and alpine tundra. Bryophytes modify their environment in various ways and may mediate climate change effects on establishing tree seedlings, and with that tree line expansion. The aim of this thesis was to understand if and how the environment, in particular bryophytes, mediates the impact of climate change on tree seedling establishment at the alpine and arctic tree line. This was explored by reviewing literature on tree seedling establishment at alpine and arctic tree lines globally. In addition, tree seedling survival and growth of Betula pubescens and Pinus sylvestris were assessed experimentally. Here, individuals were planted into mono-specific mats of different bryophytes species and exposed to warming and different precipitation regimes. The literature review revealed that besides from temperature, tree seedling establishment is affected by a wide range of abiotic and biotic factors including water, snow, nutrients, light, disturbance and surrounding vegetation. Furthermore the review revealed that for example vegetation can change tree seedling responses to climate change. The experiments showed that especially tree seedling survival was adversely affected by the presence of bryophytes and that the impacts of bryophytes were larger than those of the climate treatments. Seedling growth, on the other hand, was not hampered by the presence of bryophytes, which is in line with earlier findings that seedling survival, growth and seed germination do not respond similarly to changes in environmental conditions. Moreover, we found several indications that vegetation above the tree line, including bryophytes, mediated tree seedling responses to warming and precipitation or snow cover. This thesis shows that temperature alone should not be used to predict future tree seedling establishment above the alpine and arctic tree line and that extrapolations from climate envelope models could strongly over or under estimate tree line responses to warming. This underlines the value of multi-factorial studies for understanding the interplay between warming and other environmental factors and their effects on tree seedling establishment across current tree lines.

Alpine and arctic tree line expansion depends on the establishment of tree seedlings above the current tree line, which is expected to occur with climate warming. However, tree lines often fail to respond to higher temperatures. Other environmental factors are therefore likely important for tree seedling establishment. Above the tree line, establishing seedlings encounter existing vegetation such as bryophytes, which often dominate in arctic and alpine tundra. Bryophytes modify their environment in various ways and may mediate climate change effects on establishing tree seedlings, and with that tree line expansion. The aim of this thesis was to understand if and how the environment, in particular bryophytes, mediates the impact of climate change on tree seedling establishment at the alpine and arctic tree line. This was explored by reviewing literature on tree seedling establishment at alpine and arctic tree lines globally. In addition, tree seedling survival and growth of Betula pubescens and Pinus sylvestris were assessed experimentally. Here, individuals were planted into mono-specific mats of different bryophytes species and exposed to warming and different precipitation regimes. The literature review revealed that besides from temperature, tree seedling establishment is affected by a wide range of abiotic and biotic factors including water, snow, nutrients, light, disturbance and surrounding vegetation. Furthermore the review revealed that for example vegetation can change tree seedling responses to climate change. The experiments showed that especially tree seedling survival was adversely affected by the presence of bryophytes and that the impacts of bryophytes were larger than those of the climate treatments. Seedling growth, on the other hand, was not hampered by the presence of bryophytes, which is in line with earlier findings that seedling survival, growth and seed germination do not respond similarly to changes in environmental conditions. Moreover, we found several indications that vegetation above the tree line, including bryophytes, mediated tree seedling responses to warming and precipitation or snow cover. This thesis shows that temperature alone should not be used to predict future tree seedling establishment above the alpine and arctic tree line and that extrapolations from climate envelope models could strongly over or under estimate tree line responses to warming. This underlines the value of multi-factorial studies for understanding the interplay between warming and other environmental factors and their effects on tree seedling establishment across current tree lines.

Stability of coastal systems are threatened by oceanic and atmospheric drivers of climate change. Sea-level rise compounded with increased frequency and intensity of storms emphasizes need for protection of inner island systems by dune formations. Dune building processes are affected by interactions between growth of ecosystem engineering dune grasses and environmental factors associated with disturbance such as sand burial and salt spray. Climate change may also cause latitudinal expansion of some species, resulting in emergence of competitive interactions that were previously absent. Topographic structure of coastlines, traditionally influenced by sand burial, could change as a result of competition emergence. My goal was to determine if species functional trait responses to common abiotic factors are altered by novel and current biotic interactions. I performed a multi-factorial greenhouse experiment by planting three common dune grasses (Ammophila breviligulata, Uniola paniculata, and Spartina patens) in different biotic combinations, using sand burial and salt spray as abiotic stressors. I hypothesized that biotic interactions will cause these dune grasses to shift functional trait responses to abiotic factors that are associated with dune building. I found that plants consistently decreased in biomass when buried. I also found that competition between A. breviligulata and U. paniculata negatively affected dune building function traits of A. breviligulata. This indicates that competition with U. paniculata could alter dune structure. In comparison A. breviligulata had a positive interaction with S. patens, which increased functional trait responses to abiotic stress. Last, we found that competitive intransitivity could occur between these species. My results can be used to make predictions on cross-scale consequences of novel competitive events. This experiment also provides evidence that consideration of local biotic interactions is important in understanding connections between plant level dynamics and large-scale landscape patterns in high stress environment.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Title: Evaluation of the physiotherapy effectiveness in women handball players with an anterior instability of the glenohumeral joint. Objectives: The aim of this diploma thesis is to summarize the anterior instability of the glenohumeral joint knowledge in women handball players. Subsequently to perform and evaluate the effect of the three months long physiotherapy intervention based on proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation by which we wanted to eliminite the anterior instability of the glenohumeral joint. In the last part of the research are compared the results which were reached by the group which did the three months intervention program and the control group without any physiotherapeutical intervention. Methods: The experiment was performed in handball team HC Slavia Praha by women players range in age from 15 -19 years. It was carried out using 3 tests evaluating the instability of the anterior glenohumeral joint, which were evaluated by 2 different physiotherapists and 3 motor tests evaluating the explosive force of the upper limb. Testing was performed twice, before and after the three months long physiotherapeutical intervention. Results: After the three months intervention, there was a significant improvement of the results in the group which underwent the physiotherapy intervention....

This master thesis deals with succession and succession mechanisms of beetles (Coleoptera) on carrions of small vertebrates. As a model sample of small carrion a small mouse of weight 20 grams was chosen. In 2014 two experiments occurred. The first one studied the succession of a beetle community in dependence on seasonality and time of death of the sample. The second experiment was aimed to survey the blocking effect of an early insect succession on the final beetle community composition on carrions. It turned out, that during decomposition of the carrion the overall amount of beetles raised equally to the guild of necrophagous beetles. Change of the species spectrum during succession was not statistically confirmed. On the other hand, the effect of seasonality was clear as during the season the abundance and the amount of species increased. The proportion of trophic guilds changed significantly, necrophagous beetles were the most dominant part of the community towards the end of the season. Equally, the taxonomic composition of the community also changed during the season. The seasonal dynamics of carrion beetles was clear; Nicrophorus vespillo (Linnaeus, 1758) and N. investigator Zetterstedt, 1824 showed their peaks in spring and summer while N. humator (Gleditsch, 1767) and N. vespilloides...

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Psychology / Ronald G. Downey / Literature on work and family, the two important domains in an individual’s life, has focused heavily on the conflicts that could occur when individuals try to juggle between their responsibilities in the two domains. Lately, there has been enthusiasm to also study the facilitation aspects that could result from being engaged in both domains. This dissertation empirically tests the Resources-Development-Gain model (RGD), a recently developed work and family facilitation model, which include work and non-work factors that can bring facilitation. Over 500 academic faculty members from four universities completed an online survey comprised of demographic items, family and work variables, variables to measure facilitation, outcome variables in both domains, and personality variables. The hypothesized model (model 1) was analyzed using AMOS, and was found to be a poor fit. Personality factors included as moderators in the facilitation process were found to be non-significant and hence dropped from the modified model (Model 2). This was a significantly better fit. Model 3 was analyzed to see if a better fit would be obtained when personality variables were directly connected to outcome variables. As Model 3 did not add anything significant, Model 2 was accepted. The findings suggest that faculty tenure influenced their turnover intentions, with new academic faculty and full professors showing lower turnover intentions. Family support brought facilitation from one’s family to work and contributed to life satisfaction, while organizational support contributed to facilitation from one’s work to non-work life. No significant overlaps were found between work and family domains in the facilitation stage, but were observed at the outcome levels. Thus, job satisfaction in the work domain contributed to overall life satisfaction in the family domain. Satisfaction in one’s personal relations also tended to influence one’s turnover decisions. Future directions for research and recommendations are discussed.

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Sarah Jane Fishback / This study examined faculty self-efficacy beliefs at the United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Faculty members at this military graduate degree-producing institution engaged in collaborative, student- centric, discussion teaching. The study considered how the independent variables of gender, age, ethnicity, academic title, leadership position, education level, and years of teaching experience affected faculty self-efficacy beliefs. Social cognitive theory provided the primary theoretical lens for the study. Discussion teaching and a framework for culturally responsive teaching formed part of the theoretical foundation. The goal included extending teacher self-efficacy concepts to higher education, further developing operational definitions, and providing an instrument suitable for measuring self-efficacy in higher education contexts. The study used mixed methods sequential explanatory research design with two data collection and analysis components: quantitative and qualitative. Faculty members (N = 417) received a 30-question Likert-type survey in December 2010. After quantitative data analysis concluded, in-depth interviews took place with 12 faculty members. A semi-structured interview of nine open-ended questions supported the qualitative portion of the study. Parametric analysis procedures examined the dependent variable, faculty self-efficacy beliefs, with respect to the independent variables. The results showed no significant differences in self-efficacy beliefs. Qualitative analysis using a computer-assisted program identified five themes: establishing a positive classroom environment, facilitating discussion, faculty and student preparation for discussion, questioning, and classroom sharing of combat and deployment experiences. Results of the study provided insights about faculty self-efficacy beliefs regarding facilitation of discussion that informed CGSC leadership decisions for future faculty development initiatives as well as insight for faculty to reflect on classroom best practices. The study contributed to the field of adult education by providing greater understanding of the faculty self-efficacy construct. Further research could examine faculty self-efficacy beliefs in non-military higher education contexts, among various faculty demographics and groups, and across higher education academic disciplines. Future studies could address how interventions such as faculty development or observation and feedback affect faculty self-efficacy beliefs in the classroom.