This thesis is about a pastoral theology of participation, guided by the process of participatory action research. It explores through the lived experience of the participants practical ways of doing friendship. On this research journey, I explore the discourse of individualism and how it blinds us to our connectedness as creations in the image of God. Without denying the benefits scientific development have to offer, I argue for a more richly textured individualism, inviting concern for the consequences of our actions on the well-being of others as part of our ethical ways of being. The Fourth Century description of a Christian as `friend of God' was the inspiration for the metaphor of friendship as a powerful counterweight against the isolating forces of a culture where the distorting ideology of consumerism and individualism are prevailing. I argue for the re-membering of this metaphor for God as friend, and the church as community-of-friends. Through the telling of tales of living friendship, interwoven with and giving life to the philosophy of friendship, I build further on the metaphor for the church as community-of-friends. I propose a Friendship Position Map and the metaphor of a circle of concern, arguing that although it comes more natural to us to love those close to us, and reach out to them in friendship, in an ethical spirituality of participation and mutual care, we are to follow Jesus' example and show hospitality towards all others, including strangers and enemies. Where many authors write about the importance of community, this thesis is about how to create the nourishing community we long for. It explores practical ways in which communities can overcome obstacles in their way to connect to each other through ethical ways of loving and doing friendship. It offers some ideas about learning to be friends in the inner circles of the circle of concern with those close to us, in order to do friendship in the outer circles. I explore the role of the church and faith communities as habitat for the nurturing and/or cultivating of living friendships, in inviting faith communities to live as community-of-friends; friends of God and of one another. / Practical Theology / D.Th. - (Practical Theology--Pastoral Therapy)

The main aim of this study was to develop a diversity management content model based on the organisational team sport intervention and to compile a process model to implement organisational team sport in an organisation in nine financial organisations in Gauteng, South Africa. The diversity constraints relevant in this study were age, gender, race, religious beliefs, physical abilities, ethnicity, generation gaps, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, physical abilities, education, income, political beliefs and income. The study was conducted among 63 sport participants and nine sport coordinators employed at nine financial organisations in Gauteng, South Africa. The data were collected by means of focus group interviews with sport participants and individual interviews with sport coordinators. The results indicate that organisational team sport interventions as a diversity management initiative do have benefits for the employees (i.e. the employees learn more about and from one another, communicate openly, become friends, trust and respect one another, are able to work together in a team, have equal opportunities and there is less stereotyping/discrimination) and for the organisation (i.e. productivity, the company is able to achieve its goals, employees are more cohesive and able to work together, there is creativity, new ideas are generated and client service improves). The findings of this study contribute valuable new knowledge to the literature on the diversity management content model based on organisational team sport interventions because no studies have been conducted on an organisational team sport intervention model that can be utilised as a diversity model in organisations. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / D. Com.

The thesis analyses forms and levels of social exclusion of Zimbabwean migrants in the South African labour market and society. The research reveals that migrants face social exclusion through unruly practices of public officials and institutional bias. At community and individual level migrants are devalued and stigmatised by the local South Africans and other Zimbabwean migrants. To some extent Zimbabwean migrants participate in their own exclusion as they are divided along regional and ethnic lines. The thesis proposes an analytical framework for understanding the social exclusion of Zimbabwean migrants emphasising on how devaluation of migrant identity narrows the existing structure of opportunity, leading to various coping mechanisms some of which are deviant. The thesis proposes a moral and pragmatic view in understanding the social exclusion of migrants from a cosmopolitan perspective where migrants are citizens of a global world. Using a qualitative methodology the research provides an in-depth analysis of the life histories of fifty eight (58) ‘documented’ and ‘undocumented’ Zimbabwean men and women in Kempton Park and Tembisa. The research was carried out in 2012. Migrants respond to social exclusion by using social capital in the form of family/kinship, ethnic and church networks. Zimbabweans mainly rely on bonding rather than bridging social capital. To a greater extent, migrant networks help them to ‘get by’ and simply survive. The few that have managed to ‘get ahead’, have made use of networks with South African residents and other individuals outside their migrant network systems. These have facilitated acquisition of fake identity documents, jobs and other necessities. Family networks are beginning to repel migrants because of the economic pressures they face leading to the weakening of ties among Zimbabwean migrant family members. / Sociology / D. Litt. et Phil. (Sociology)

This report argues that historic landscape preservation efforts need to embrace biodiversity planning. Historic landscape preservation sites need to develop biodiversity plans because they are uniquely qualified to provide the continuous monitoring that successful biodiversity planning requires. Not only will biodiversity monitoring at various historic landscape sites contribute to a nationwide collection of biodiversity planning data, but it will also provide a rich source of information that can be presented to draw a wider audience into the biodiversity discussion. After considering three precedents: Old Sturbridge Village, Old World Wisconsin, and Tucson Botanical Gardens, the report focuses on the Kino Heritage Fruit Trees Project and its real and potential impacts on biodiversity planning in southern Arizona and more broadly. Finally, the report considers how seed libraries and seed swaps might serve a similar purpose in other parts of the country. / text

In May 1856 the EFS (the Swedish Evangelical Mission Society), influenced by the new evangelism-movement, was established as an “internal mission” within the Church of Sweden. During the same period the “new evangelism” revival movement established regional organizations in order to coordinate the movement in different parts of the country. These regional organizations consisted of the movement’s local mission societies in a province or part of a province of Sweden. This study will focus on democracy and theological identity in the EFS through an analysis of how the regional organizations acted, what role they played, how the EFS was influenced by them and how the EFS decided to establish its own regional organization. One result of the earlier tensions between the regional mission organizations and the EFS was the establishment of the independent organizations Mission Covenant Church of Sweden (Svenska Missionsförbundet) (1878-) and Mission Society of Bible faithful Friends (Missionssällskapet Bibeltrogna Vänner) (1911-). This investigation looks into 17 of 36 regional mission organizations that existed. The time frame of the investigation is from the establishment of the EFS in 1856 to the establishment of the regional structure of the EFS in 1922. The EFS changed over time. The change of society and wishes from the movement’s local mission societies and regional mission organizations were agents in this transformation. An important result of this research is that this transformation of the EFS proceeded at a slow pace and with the preservation of the EFS’s theological identity.

This dissertation examines Elizabeth Robinson Montagu's relationships with three men: her husband, Edward Montagu; George Lyttelton, first baron Lyttelton; and William Pulteney, earl of Bath to show how these relationships were structured and how Elizabeth Montagu negotiated them in order to forward her own intellectual interests. Montagu's relationship with her husband Edward and her friendships with Lord Lyttelton and Lord Bath supplied her with important outlets for intellectual and political expression. Scholarly work on Montagu's friendships with other intellectual women has demonstrated how Montagu drew on the support of female friends in her literary ambitions, but at the same time, it has obscured her equally important male relationships. Without discounting the importance of female friendship to Montagu's intellectual life, this study demonstrates that Montagu's relationships with Bath, Lyttleton, and her husband were at least as important to her as those with women, and that her male friendships and relationships offered her entry into the political sphere. Elizabeth Montagu was greatly interested in the political debates of her day and she contributed to the political process in the various ways open to her as an elite woman and female intellectual. Within the context of these male friendships, Montagu had an opportunity to discuss political philosophy as well as practical politics; as a result, she developed her own political positions. It is clear that contemporary gender conventions limited the boundaries of Montagu's intellectual and political concerns and that she felt the need to position her interests and activities in ways that did not appear transgressive in order to follow her own inclinations. Montagu represented her interest in the political realm as an extension of family duty and expression of female tenderness. In this manner, Montagu was able to forward her own opinions without appearing to cross conventional gender boundaries.

This study takes its starting point in a person experience where I had a difficult time dealing with a group of students who had come together in a formation when they spent time away from their classmates during the first weeks of having after-school activities. The other children later felt excluded by the group that had then taken form. Using different methods, I attempted to get the group in question to participate in activities with the other children, but my efforts were in vain. With the help of Etienne Wenger’s theory of the alliance building and communities of practice, I want to investigate in finding answer to why the children grouped themselves in this way and the investigation in its turn led me to reflecting upon if the children felt secure at the after-school center. The aim of this investigation is to contribute to increasing the sense of fellowship among the children at the after-school center and to help me, as well as other working educators, to find tools for how one can take action in similar situations. The method I have chosen to use for the study is the academic essay, and the question I seek to answer is: How can I, as an after-school educator, work so that everyone in a class can be included in the same community? I conclude that I have not found a solution but rather an opening for how I can support the group as they develop confidence in us adults and become secure participants in the operations together with the other children. Such an opening can occur, for example when the children in the group are fighting with each other, or when there are other ways to reach these closed groups of children. When these openings occur, it is especially important for the pedagogue to not try to seize the opportunity and split the peer group. Instead, it is important that the adults are trying to build the children's confidence in them by treating them with respect and take the time to try to see each child. / Den här undersökningen tar sin utgångspunkt ur en självupplevd händelse. I situationen får jag svårt att hantera en grupp med barn som grupperat sig när de spenderat tid utan sina klasskamrater de första veckorna på fritids. De andra klasskamraterna känner sig senare exkluderade av den grupp som bildats. Jag försöker med olika metoder få gruppen att delta i aktiviteter med de andra barnen, men förgäves. Med hjälp av Etienne Wengers teori om alliansbildningar och praktikgemenskaper till hjälp vill jag finna svar på varför barnen grupperar sig, detta leder i sin tur fram till att jag reflekterar kring om barnen är trygga på fritidshemmet. Syftet med undersökningen är att jag vill öka samhörigheten bland barnen på fritidshemmet och att jag, men även andra yrkesverksamma pedagoger ska kunna finna verktyg för hur man kan agera i liknande situationer. Metoden jag valt att använda för undersökningen är den vetenskapliga essän och den frågeställning jag vill svara på är: Hur kan jag som fritidspedagog arbeta för att alla i klassen ska ingå i en och samma gemenskap? Som slutsats kommer jag fram till att jag inte funnit en lösning, men en öppning för hur jag kan stötta gruppen till att känna tillit till oss vuxna och bli trygga deltagare i verksamheten tillsammans med de andra barnen. En sådan öppning kan exempelvis uppstå när barnen i gruppen blir osams med varandra eller när det finns andra vägar att nå fram till de slutna barngrupperna. När dessa öppningar uppstår är det särskilt viktigt för pedagogerna att inte försöka ta tillfället i akt och splittra kamratgruppen. Det är istället viktigt att de vuxna försöker bygga upp barnens förtroende för dem genom att behandla barnen respektfullt och ta sig tiden till att försöka se varje barn.

Wandering Sagebrush is a collection of eight unified short stories. The main themes of the thesis include: the struggle of identity and how one finds the people and places to call family and home. The stories focus on family we make, family we lose, family we choose, and the decisions one makes in the name of family.

Cette étude s’intéresse aux relations d’amitié et aux caractéristiques des amis comme facteurs de risque interpersonnels susceptibles de prédire les changements à travers le temps, de la victimisation par les pairs au début du secondaire. L’échantillon est composé de 524 élèves de secondaire I et II pour lesquels le niveau de victimisation a été mesuré par les pairs lors de deux années consécutives. Les facteurs de risque individuel associés à la victimisation par les pairs (i.e. les comportements agressifs, les comportements de retrait social et le rejet par les pairs) ainsi que les caractéristiques des amis (i.e. agressivité, retrait social et victimisation des amis) ont également été évalués par les pairs lors du premier temps de mesure. Les résultats démontrent qu’au-delà des facteurs de risque individuels, un plus grand nombre d’amis prédit une diminution de la victimisation par les pairs sur une période d’un an. De plus, pour les élèves rejetés socialement, la victimisation des amis permet de rendre compte d’une augmentation de la victimisation dans le temps. Contrairement aux résultats obtenus par d’autres études, l’agressivité des amis permet de prédire une diminution de la victimisation seulement pour les élèves bien acceptés socialement. Pour les jeunes qui sont rejetés socialement, l’agressivité des amis permet de prédire une augmentation de la victimisation par les pairs. Ces résultats apportent un regard nouveau sur l’inter influence entre l’identité des amis et le contexte social dans lequel les adolescents évoluent. / This study examined the association between friend’s characteristics and the pattern of changes in peer victimization in the first years of middle school. The sample was composed of 524 grade 7 and 8 French-Canadian students from two middle schools. Student’s level of victimization as perceived by their peers was evaluated during two consecutive school years. Individual risk factors (i.e. aggressive behaviors, social withdrawal and peer rejection) and friend’s characteristics (i.e. friend’s aggression, social withdrawal and victimization) were also measured with peer nominations during the first year of the study. Results show that beyond individual risk factors, the number of friends was associated with a decrease over time in peer victimization. Moreover, for socially rejected students, having friends who are victimized within the peer group was associated with an increase in peer victimization. Results also show that having aggressive friends lead to a decrease in peer victimization, but only for popular students. However, for socially-rejected students, having aggressive friends was associated with an increase over time in peer victimization. This study brings a new light on the dynamic influences between friends’ identity and the social context in which adolescents evolve.

La consommation de substances psychoactives débute généralement à l’adolescence. Cette pratique, bien qu’illégale, est répandue à cet âge. Toutefois, elle peut avoir de graves répercussions sur le développement de l’individu. Il est important de mieux connaître les facteurs pouvant influencer sa fréquence d’utilisation afin d’en diminuer les risques. Ce mémoire vise à examiner le rôle des amis déviants et de la pratique d’un sport organisé dans le développement de l’intoxication à l’alcool et la consommation de cannabis à l’adolescence. Plus précisément, l’étude vise à déterminer si la pratique d’un sport organisé a des effets modérateurs sur la relation entre les amis déviants et l’intoxication à l’alcool et la consommation de cannabis. Les analyses ont été réalisées séparément pour l’alcool et le cannabis. L’échantillon utilisé provient de l’étude longitudinale de la Stratégie d’Intervention Agir Autrement et comprend 4219 adolescents. Des régressions probit ont été effectuées. Tel qu’attendu, les résultats montrent que la fréquentation d’amis déviants est associée au risque d’intoxication à l’alcool et de consommation de cannabis. De plus, les résultats ont démontré le rôle modérateur protecteur de la pratique d’un sport organisé pour l’alcool. Un jeune qui a des amis déviants et qui participe à un sport organisé consommerait généralement moins d’alcool qu’un jeune qui a des amis déviants et qui ne participe pas une activité sportive organisée. Les implications de ces résultats pour la recherche sont discutées. / Substance use generally emerges during adolescence and, even if prohibited, is widespread at that age. However, it can have severe consequences on human development. It is important to better understand the factors that influence the frequency of drug use in order to reduce risk. This research project aims to examine the role of deviant friends and organized sport practice in the development of alcohol abuse and cannabis use in adolescence. More specifically, this study aims to determine whether an organised sport practice held a moderating effect on the relationship between deviant friends and alcohol abuse and cannabis use. Analyzes were performed separately for alcohol and cannabis. The sample is drawn from the longitudinal study of New Approach, New Solutions and includes 4219 adolescents. Probit regressions were performed and showed, as expected, that deviant friends are associated with alcohol abuse and cannabis use. In addition, the results support the protective moderating role of organized sport practice for alcohol. Youth who has deviant friends and participate in organized sport generally consume less alcohol that youth who has deviant friends and is not involved in organized sport activity. The implications of these findings are discussed.