O presente trabalho teve por finalidade investigar as estratégias adotadas por uma escola pública de ensino fundamental, tendo como meta a superação do baixo desempenho apresentado pelos alunos na Prova Brasil e a análise das possíveis relações entre as ações adotadas pelo Gestor Escolar, as mudanças ocorridas no contexto escolar e a melhoria dos resultados da avaliação externa - Prova Brasil. Trata-se de um estudo de caso de uma escola pública de um município da Região Metropolitana do Vale do Paraíba e Litoral Norte. A escola em questão apresentou - com base nos dados do IDEB/2007 - rendimento insatisfatório quanto ao seu desempenho didático-pedagógico, em especial, com as turmas de quinto ano do Ensino Fundamental, foco da avaliação, sendo considerada prioritária pela Secretaria da Educação do Estado de São Paulo. Em 2009, com a mudança do Gestor Escolar, alavancou seus resultados. Das cinco escolas consideradas prioritárias no município, foi a que mais cresceu na avaliação da Prova Brasil (IDEB/2009), apresentando melhor desempenho nos resultados. Foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas com o gestor e oito professores, tendo como eixos norteadores as ações do Gestor Escolar, os professores frente às mudanças e os fundamentos teóricos metodológicos (Gestão Democrática/participativa e Atitudes interdisciplinares); um Grupo focal envolvendo a equipe escolar: Gestor Escolar, vice-Gestor Escolar, coordenador pedagógico e oito professores do ensino fundamental (séries iniciais) e análise documental ( Projeto Político Pedagógico da escola e do Plano de Gestão). Também foram feitas observações pela pesquisadora no campo de pesquisa. Para a análise dos dados, foi utilizada a análise de conteúdo de Bardin (2009), que favoreceu a articulação dos dados e a sustentação dos resultados. Os dados empíricos foram trabalhados numa perspectiva relacional. Nesse sentido, foram construídos cinco eixos de análise. O estudo indicou que os resultados das avaliações externas (Prova Brasil) representaram um pretexto para que a escola se reorganizasse e reinventasse sua cultura. Pode-se perceber que as ações do Gestor Escolar, desposando de uma postura democrática e participativa, auxiliaram no desenvolvimento de atitudes e práticas interdisciplinares, que culminaram em melhoria da qualidade de ensino oferecida pela escola e, consequentemente, em melhores índices nas avaliações externas. / The present work has for purpose to investigate the strategies adopted by a public school of fundamental teaching tends as goal the superação of the bass acting presented by the students in the Prova Brasil and to analyze the possible relationships among the actions adopted by the School Manager, the changes happened in the school context and the improvement of the results of the external evaluationit Proves Brazil. It is a study of case of a public school of a municipal district of the Metropolitan Area of the it is Worth of Paraíba and North Coast. The school in subject presented for the data of IDEB - 2007unsatisfactory revenue with relationship to its didactic-pedagogic acting, especially, with the groups of 5ano of the Fundamental Teaching, focus of this evaluation, being considered prioritária by the Clerkship of the Education of the State of São Paulo. In 2009, with the School Managers change, its alavancou results. Of the five schools considered prioritárias in the municipal district went to that more grew in Prova Brazils evaluation - (IDEB2009), presenting better acting in its results. Interviews semi was accomplished - structured tends as axes norteadores: the School Managers actions, the teachers front to the changes and the methodological Theoretical foundations (Democratic Administration / participativa and Attitudes interdisciplinares); focal Group involving the school team, School Manager, School vice-manager, pedagogic coordinator and eight teachers of the fundamental teaching II and also documental analysis (I Project Political Pedagogic of the school and of the Plan of Administration). They were also made observations by the researcher in the research field. For the analysis of the data the analysis of content of Bardin was used (2009), that favored the articulation of the data and the sustentação of the results. The preliminary results indicate that the School Managers actions looked for a collective construction, by means of an implementação of participation channels, possibly favoring the school of to socialize its culture and to contribute for the democratization. The results of the external evaluations Prove Brazil, they represented a pretext for the school to reorganize and to reinvent its culture, and the democratic administration and participativa, it went that looked for roads for a quality school. It can be noticed that the actions of the Manager School desposando of a democratic posture and participativa aided in the development of attitudes and practical interdisciplinares.

Using a discourse analysis, the thesis will examine the impact of the postcolonial condition and the desire for integration in the institutional framing of human development reports, policies and programs. Three levels will be used to contextualize the Caribbean expression of human development. First, the international level will be represented by the UNDP, central organ of the international development engine to provide the context of the international discourse. Then, regional and national levels with a case study of Barbados and Haiti will be investigated and evaluate to what extent does the postcolonial condition and identity enable the regional integration into the international development discourse. The paper seeks to verify empirically the Postcolonial criticism of development and produce IR Postcolonial empirical research on discourses to voice the Caribbean experiences. I argue that the region does not produce a counter-discourse to development and reject the claim that the postcolonial condition/subjectivity is an obstacle the use of the international development framework in the postcolonial Caribbean. To support my position, the notion of identity will be assessed highlighting the references to a regional identity put forward the unity of the region. The thesis will conclude that the attempt to foster a regional Caribbean identity is weaken by the ambivalence of the postcolonial subjectivity and the desire for integration.

The role of energy in wealth and development is evident but the manner that a population’s access to energy effects overall growth is unclear. Understanding the role of energy in society can impact policies to push improvement in underdeveloped countries. Therefore, it is necessary to know how energy improves quality of life and what improvements need to be made to provide the necessary resources to underdeveloped populations. The first half of the thesis focuses on the role of energy use in society and its effect on human development. It is established that underdeveloped countries are in fact positively affected from increased energy access. Additionally, that the use of renewables will improve all the aspects of human development: health, wealth, and education. These results suggest that policy makers should focus on increasing clean energy in developing countries to also improve overall development. The second half shifts to the design and characterization of a water tunnel and the role it has in understanding fluid flow for near-wall visualization. Using refractive index matching (RIM) this experimental method can be used to study micro-surfaces that could improve efficiency in transportation or renewable energy. The water tunnel herein can achieve turbulent flows, unlike previous RIM designs.

This research examines the impact of formal and informal labeling on self-reported violent and non-violent delinquency. This longitudinal research design utilizes cohort 15 from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) at two different points in time. This research not only evaluates the effect of formal labeling (arrest) but also determines the effect of informal labeling (warning and releasing) by police officers. Specifically, the hypotheses assess if labeling affects minority youth differently than white youth. Using nested ordinary least square re and logistic regression models, the results indicate that labeling only operates in simple models containing few variables. The apparent effects of labeling on non-violent delinquency are accounted for in the complete model by previous delinquent behavior, living in a two-parented home, and having a parent with a criminal record. Moreover, the apparent effects of labeling are diminished in the complete model predicting violent delinquency once controlling for the effects of race (Black), gender (male), lower income level, and having a parent with a criminal record.

Ein besonderer Kreis von Ländern sind die Transformationsländer. Ziel der Transformation ist es, die totalitären Gesellschaften mit ihrer ineffizienten Kommandowirtschaft in liberale demokratische Zivilgesellschaften mit einer marktwirtschaftlichen Struktur umzuwandeln und dadurch die Entwicklungskräfte dieser Gesellschaften zu befreien und zu entfalten. Die neu gewonnene Freiheit und die Selbstverantwortung der Menschen können das oben umschriebene Niveau der menschlichen Entwicklung besonders in diesen Ländern erhöhen. Auf der anderen Seite wird seit Anfang der 90er Jahre diese Entwicklung in den meisten Transformationsländern immer wieder von wirtschaftlichen Turbulenzen begleitet. So wirkt sich die neu gewonnene Freiheit noch sehr unterschiedlich und eher zögerlich auf das humanitäre Entwicklungsniveau der Transformationsländer aus. Dies schlägt sich in den bisher publizierten jährlichen Human-Development-Reports durch die Verminderung des Human-Development-Indexes (HDI) vieler Transformationsländer nieder.

Magister Artium (Psychology) - MA(Psych) / Adolescence is a critical developmental stage wherein adolescents face various challenges which potentially impact on the development of their future orientation, the setting of and working towards goals, and ultimately their life trajectories. Considering South Africa’s socio-political history which has resulted in limitations regarding educational and career possibilities of adolescents, there is a need to examine factors that influence adolescents’ aspirations. The current study thus aimed to ascertain the nature of the relation between adolescents’ subjective well-being and career aspirations. Within this process, the study further aimed to ascertain the extent to which this relation is mediated by social support. The current study forms part of a larger study that explored the relation between adolescents’ career aspirations and a range of personal and contextual factors, using a cross-sectional design. The sample comprised 1082 adolescents (males and females) in grades 8 to 11, purposively selected from eight schools in low-income communities in Cape Town, South Africa. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the levels of career aspirations, subjective well-being and social support among the participants. Mediation analysis using the bootstrap confidence interval approach, within a structural equation modelling data analysis framework was conducted to determine the extent to which social support mediates the relationship between subjective well-being and career aspirations. For the overall model using the pooled sample, the study found a non-significant relation between adolescents’ subjective well-being and career aspirations. Across gender, the results demonstrated a significant relation between subjective well-being and career aspirations for the male group, explaining 2.1% of the variance in aspirations. However, a non-significant relation was obtained for the female group. An important finding of the study is that social support did not mediate the relation between adolescents’ subjective well-being and career aspirations for the pooled sample, and across both gender groups. For females, a significant negative relation was found between social support and aspirations. Results also revealed a significant negative relation between age and aspirations for both males and females. Social support and financial resources are important factors to consider in relation to adolescents’ well-being and aspirations, especially given that the social support that females receive is informed by gender norms and cultural beliefs, which in turn hinders their aspirations. It is recommended that interventions are targeted at an institutional level, inclusive of challenging gender roles, providing information about educational and career opportunities for young people, and improving parenting skills in an effort to advance adolescents’ career aspirations.

We live in the Anthropocene – the Age of Humans – characterized by dangerous environmental degradation, demanding urgent and adequate international environmental governance (IEG). Yet, IR scholarship problematizes the shortcomings of current IEG, demonstrating its failure to fight environmental degradation. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the UNDP published the 2020 Human Development Report titled ‘The next frontier – Human Development in the Anthropocene’. A preliminary reading suggests a shift towards ecocentric governance. Inspired by this development, this study situates itself within the literature on Adaptive Governance in the Anthropocene. It explores if IEG is indeed adopting ecocentrism, thereby adapting to the conditions and demands of the 21st century. Complementing UNDP with two additional cases (UNEP and WHO), this research attempts to provide an updated understanding of the state of IEG in 2020/21 through qualitative content analysis of flagship reports. Green Theory and scholarship on IEG and the Anthropocene will be utilized to construct the research design, as well as to assess the content and meaning of the results. The research findings suggest that UNDP, UNEP, and WHO adopt ecocentrism norms, albeit with certain gradations present. This study attempts to complement the governance literature and take a stand regarding the status of IR in the Anthropocene.

This thesis explores the interplay between copyright and tertiary education, and their roles for sustainable human development in Ethiopia. Access to learning materials is used as a context for the exploration. Despite its recognition of development as a human and constitutional right, Ethiopia emphasizes economic growth as the core of its national development objectives. To this end, tertiary education is often considered for its instrumental role in human capital formation. Given this narrow lens of development, the thesis observes the neglect of human development as the enlargement of human capabilities. It is underscored that development-oriented copyright and tertiary education are both vital in themselves and complementary for sustainable human development. Nonetheless, their complementing roles depend upon relevant policy and legal flexibilities that facilitate access to learning materials. As a major context for the interplay, access to learning materials is essential for both sustainable creative innovation and quality tertiary education. Noting a restrictive copyright system as one of the impediments, the thesis thus inquiries into the regime and finds out the non-incorporation of relevant international copyright-related flexibilities. Adopting a TRIPs-plus approach, the existing national copyright law in Ethiopia has left out a number of legal flexibilities relevant for increased access to learning materials. Stifling creative and learning freedoms or capabilities, this has serious ramifications for sustainable human development. From human development perspective, the thesis further unveils lack of coherence in the regimes and proper orientations towards human development. Therefore, it is imperative to revisit the regimes, forge a coherence, and retract the excessive protection. A comprehensive integration of appropriate flexibilities is recommended to promote creative and learning capabilities for enhanced human development.

The purpose of this qualitative, descriptive study was to obtain insight into how Grade 9 learners (average age of 15 years) in a secondary rural school conceptualise school violence. The study was framed by a social constructionism paradigm, focusing on the co-construction of knowledge and meanings by the researcher and participants through personal engagement. Bronfenbrenner‟s Bioecological Theory of Human Development, operationalised by the Process-Person-Context-Time Model, provided a theoretical grounding for the inquiry. An instrumental case study design was followed, whereby nine Grade 9 learners (4 boys and 5 girls) in a rural secondary school participating in an academic service learning project were conveniently selected as the unit of study. Qualitative data from a focus group and task-based activities were transcribed, whilst participant observations were documented in a research journal through photographs. Constructivist grounded theory principles guided the thematic analysis. Three primary themes emerged: Violence as behaviour; Violence as experience and Power and authority. Findings indicate that school violence was perpetuated by both peers and teachers, in physical and verbal forms. Corporal punishment continued to be a prevalent strategy for maintaining discipline and authority within the school. It was also evident in the findings that learners differentiated between acts of school violence and play-fighting according to the intentions and responses of those involved. Contradictory sentiments regarding the acceptability of school violence emerged. On the one hand participants wanted school violence to stop, describing it as hurtful. However, they also expressed views that when used by someone in authority for the purpose of discipline or protection, school violence was appropriate and acceptable. Therefore, the current study suggests that participants view school violence in a duplicitous role – used negatively to cause harm, but also positively to enforce order and protect. This study contributes to literature by providing youth-generated conceptualisations of school violence. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

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