This thesis is located in the emerging field of early childhood education for sustainability and has particular focus on Malta. It sought to gather insights into young children’s perceptions of environmental sustainability, and the influences that shaped these perceptions, particularly in the context of the family and the school. Twelve Maltese children, aged between 3 and 7 years, ten parents, five teachers and a head teacher participated in this study, which was conducted in two Maltese State schools and one household. Designed within interpretive methodology, this study adopted a qualitative multiple case study approach. It was guided by cognitive theory, socio-cultural theory, bio-ecological theory of human development, the “new sociology of childhood” and related policy initiatives like the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and theories of inter-generational influence. Data were generated through observations; conversational interviews with children; their interpretations of photographs; and their drawings and interpretation of them. Semi-structured interviews with parents, teachers and head teacher, a researcher’s journal and document analysis were used to triangulate the data. Manual data analysis produced a plethora of rich and in-depth data. The main findings reveal three themes which reveal children’s perceptions of the environment; their perceptions of environmental sustainability; and the contextual influences upon these perceptions. Children’s perceptions of environmental sustainability started at an early age; were influenced by context; and were socially and culturally constructed. Children were able to discuss issues related to environmental sustainability at a basic level by drawing on personal experience. Overall, the study indicates that young children possess some knowledge of environmental sustainability and can talk about it. This thesis concludes by considering the implications of the study for educators, researchers, curriculum and policy-makers; and by outlining several avenues for future research.

abstract: In this document I detail the inception of the community service learning program, Flashback, that I created for Actor's Youth Theatre of Mesa Arizona. I first provide the organization's history and then expound upon my beliefs and how the ASU theatre for youth program, along with the needs of AYT, led me to create the program. I then describe the goals and processes of implementing the community based project. I also define service learning and why the program was designed around its principles. Finally, I describe the program's curriculum, devising process and Flashback's first trial run, and then continue, evaluating the performance and reflecting upon the process. The appendix includes the devised script, photos of the performance and interaction with the community, some of the planned curriculum and portions of my journals written during the process. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Theatre 2012

Background: Dementia presents challenges for whole families requiring on-going adaptation. Family relationships provide important benefits, thus understanding the impact of dementia for families is critical to facilitating their wellbeing. Behavioural variant Frontotemporal Dementia (bvFTD) brings specific challenges for relationships, however little is understood about how these are experienced or how families adjust. Aims: This research sought to develop an in-depth understanding of the inter-generational family experience of bvFTD over time. Method: Using a qualitative design, nineteen people were interviewed from seven families, including people living with bvFTD. Interviews occurred over three time points. Narrative analysis and grounded theory were used to understand how relationships are affected and the psycho-social coping processes involved in adjustment over time. Results: Four themes emerged; - Cohesive and connected --- distant and disconnected - Challenges to we/ I - Assimilating, adjusting and reconstructing --- resisting, denying, being stuck - A changing we / I --- an entrenched we / I Results illustrate the influence of pre-existing relationships on family experiences of bvFTD. Challenges to family relationships occurred, including changes in mutuality and increased responsibility. Levels of awareness and understanding, influenced by factors such as proximity impacted upon individual and family adjustment. Assimilating these changes was critical to developing strategies for managing the impact on the relationship and adapting to ‘a changing we’. For closest family members including partners, grief and loss were experienced resulting in the need for a parallel adaptation to a changing ‘I’. Acceptance and adaptation was critical to supporting the wellbeing of the person with bvFTD. / The Florence Nightingale Foundation; The General Nursing Council for England and Wales Trust; The Atkinson Morley and Amandus Club Neuroscience.

La mobilité économique est une des aspirations de toute société moderne, mais comment peut-on savoir la véritable évolution de la mobilité sociale ? C’est-à-dire : 1) peut-on mesurer la mobilité sociale avec les données ou la technologie disponibles aujourd’hui? 2) Quelles sont les tendances de la mobilité sociale qui a traversées la génération actuelle? Ou encore 3) à quel point la société actuelle est-elle mobile par rapport aux anciennes générations? Ce sont les trois questions à la base de cette thèse. Nous soutenons ici que c’est possible de connaître encore plus sur l’évolution de la mobilité sociale en restreignant son analyse à quelques dimensions dans le champ de l’économie : le revenu et l’éducation. Le première article s’attaque au problème du manque des données nécessaires pour l’analyse des dynamiques du revenu à l’intérieur d’une génération. Il est avéré que les données longitudinales sont rares et très peu disponibles dans la plupart des pays, ce qui est vrai même pour les pays développés ! Nous avons essayé d’assembler ce casse-tête par des approches méthodologiques récentes, telles que les «panels synthétiques», une méthodologie normalement utilisée pour l’analyse des dynamiques de la pauvreté. Les articles deux et trois décrivent, plus spécifiquement, les tendances à long terme de la mobilité économique pour le revenu et pour l’éducation, respectivement. Le deuxième papier s’occupe de la mobilité intra-générationnelle, tandis que le troisième est dédié à la mobilité intergénérationnelle. Tous les deux répondent aux questions deux et trois posées plus en haut, en cherchant d’améliorer la façon dont la dimension temporaire est incluse dans l’analyse du bien-être économique, ceci avec pour but de reproduire l’effet d’un film fait avec plusieurs clichés. Cette thèse cherche à élargir le savoir expérimental sur la mobilité économique, vu que la plupart des études ne prennent en compte que quelques années de mobilité intra-générationnelle ou à peine quelque génération. En outre, la plupart des résultats des expériences existantes font référence aux pays scandinaves ou à des pays fortement industrialisés. Pour cette thèse nous avons donc pris l’exemple du Mexique, mais les approches et les principes méthodologiques utilisés pourront être appliqués à n’importe quel autre pays. Les chemins de nos vies sont dans un mouvement perpétuel : par monts et par vaux. Dans une société démocratique, il semble utile de savoir si notre appartenance sociale nous permet de nous en sortir malgré nos origines, ou si au contraire, notre destin est voué à l’échec à cause d’elles. Il nous faut en effet, des résultats empiriques pour répondre à ces délibérations. Cette thèse est peut-être une invitation osée à mettre en marche cette conversation. / Economic mobility constitutes a social aspiration in many modern societies however do we really know the actual evolution of social mobility? In other words: 1) how can we measure economic mobility with the data available or with the technology at hand? 2) What are the trends of economic mobility experienced by the current generation? Moreover 3) how mobile is a society relative to previous generations? These questions motivate this dissertation. The complexity of these issues may derive in some sort of paralysis but it is claimed here that it may be possible to learn something about its evolution by restricting analysis to a couple of key dimensions within the economic discipline: income and education. This is the scope followed by this research. The first paper in this dissertation is devoted to deal with the lack of the required data to examine the income dynamics within one generation. It is well known that longitudinal data is often scarce and is seldom available in many countries. This is the case even in well-developed countries! This conundrum has been partially addressed through recent methodological approaches by the so-called synthetic panels. The second part of this dissertation is entirely devoted to applied research. More specifically, the second and third papers describe long run trends of economic mobility in income and education respectively. The former is devoted to intra-generational mobility while the later is devoted to inter-generational mobility. Each of them address the second and third interrogations referred above. In a way this dissertation attempts to improve the addition of the time dimension in the analysis of economic wellbeing. It attempts to produce the effect of a motion picture by the use multiple snapshots. The trends contained herein are far from being perfect and complete but they are based on the use of extensive data and multiple methods covering three decades and the same number of generations in each case. This research expects to expand our knowledge on the empirics of economic mobility as most of the studies refer to few years of intra-generational mobility or to a couple of generations only. Furthermore, most of the empirical evidence available refers to Nordic and highly industrialized countries. Mexico is the canvas of this work but the approaches and principles followed here could be easily mimicked elsewhere. The roads of our lives are constantly moving: rising and falling. In a democratic context, it is useful to know, whether our society provides the chance to get ahead regardless of our origins, or whether this chance is ruled or doomed by them. Empirical evidence is needed to foster these deliberations. This dissertation may well be an invitation to sustain this kind conversation.

<p>This study explored the livelihood activities in female-headed households in Vrygrond, Cape Town. The objective of this study was to identify and analyse livelihood strategies adopted by female-headed households. The Capability Approach was used as a theoretical framework of the study. This approach drew on the idea that resources and abilities enable people to achieve a range of valued ways of being and doing.</p>

This thesis discusses how IKEA perceive and use concept of Sustainable Development and relates it with consumption. For that purpose, an online-survey was undertaken with the aim to see how IKEA´s customers perceive IKEA´s philanthropic activities in developing countries and how these activities influence on their consumption patterns and ideas of inter-generational justice. Besides that, a critical discourse analysis is performed with the intention to gain insight into IKEA´s communication of sustainable discourse focusing on the text and external communication from IKEA. The results from critical discourse analysis and online-survey showed that IKEA is shifting its position toward sustainability discourse and changing its business model, while at same time IKEA is penetrating into new markets and reaching new consumption under cover of corporate philanthropy. The online survey showed that IKEA´s customers stated a strong expression of necessary presence of inter-generational justice in developing countries. Intergenerational justice represents the moral obligations toward present, but also toward future generations. IKEA´s philanthropic activities in developing countries, on the other hand, were appraised as weak by survey respondents. One of the conclusions this thesis is that IKEA´s incorporation of Sustainable Development is associated with challenges. IKEA´s communication of corporate sustainable development effects on customers’ consumption pattern motivating them to buy and consume more IKEA´s products. IKEA´s philanthropic activities in developing countries are not sufficient enough. Survey respondents evaluated that donation efforts are not sufficient. Ideally, it is assumed that IKEA as a part of corporate sustainable development should promote less consumption and invest more in sustainable use and protection of natural resources with the aim to reach inter-generational justice as well as to incorporate Sustainable Development into its discourse and practice.

<p>This study explored the livelihood activities in female-headed households in Vrygrond, Cape Town. The objective of this study was to identify and analyse livelihood strategies adopted by female-headed households. The Capability Approach was used as a theoretical framework of the study. This approach drew on the idea that resources and abilities enable people to achieve a range of valued ways of being and doing.</p>

Magister Artium - MA / This study explored the livelihood activities in female-headed households in Vrygrond, Cape Town. The objective of this study was to identify and analyse livelihood strategies adopted by female-headed households. The Capability Approach was used as a theoretical framework of the study. This approach drew on the idea that resources and abilities enable people to achieve a range of valued ways of being and doing. / South Africa

Text in Afrikaans / Jeugbediening in die meeste hoofstroom kerke vertoon die volgende: Dit is program- en tradisie-gedrewe. Daar is nie 'n doelgedrewe plan en -strategie te bespeur nie. Die fokus val op die instandhouding van die jeuggroep, programme en aktiwiteite. Die potensiele teikengroepe, hul vlakke van geloofsverbintenis en hulle behoeftes word nie na behore ge!dentifiseer nie. 'n Doelgedrewe jeugbediening-strategie kan 'n moontlike oplossing vrr bogenoemde probleme wees. Dit moet veral aan die volgende aandag skenk: Fokus op 'n duidelike doelstelling, op jongmense se behoeftes en op 'n doelgedrewe benadering. Daar moet veral 'n spesifieke sty/ of benadering wees waarmee die jeugbediening aangepak word, naamlik 'n intergeneratiewe strategie. Die gemeente as geloofsgemeenskap en as lewenslange versorgingstruktuur behoort die konteks te wees waarbinne die jeugbediening plaasvind. 'n Programbeplanningsproses sal verhoed dat die beplanning lukraak en oorhaastig gedoen word. Verder sal dit die gevaar van programme wat net aanmekaar geryg word, tee werk. / Youth ministry m most mainstream churches is characterised by the following: It is program- and tradition-driven. No purpose-driven plan and -strategy are visible. The focus is on maintaining the youth group, programs and activities. The potential target groups, their levels of faith commitment and their needs are not identified properly. A purpose-driven youth ministry strategy may be a possible solution to the above-mentioned problems. It should especially give attention to the following: Focus on a clear purpose statement, on young people's needs and on a purpose-driven approach. In particular, there should be a 5pesific style or approach with which youth ministry is launched, namely an intergenerational strategy. The congregation as a community of faith and as a lifelong care structure should be the context within youth ministry occurs. A program planning process will prevent the planning to be done haphazardly and impetuously. / Philosophy, Practical & Systematic Theology / M.Diac. (Jeugwerk)

As we celebrate all the dynamic and dramatic improvements in human health care in the 21st century, life in much of Africa begins with and is sustained with the support of traditional medicinal knowledge. Research on traditional medicinal knowledge (TMK) is extensive, but rather few studies have been written about Traditional Healers' (THs') own perceptions about TMK and practices in relation to changing societal dynamics. The aim of this thesis is to examine how THs perceive on going socio-spatial transformation, including contemporary processes of urbanization, migration, commercialization and commodification of TMK, as well as changing dynamics of learning and knowledge systems between generations and genders and how these affect their medicinal healing practices in time and space. The thesis consists of four main empirical chapters, which derive from different data sources including literature, documentation review and qualitative interview material. The findings in this thesis can be summarised as follows: First that TMK today exists side by side with modern health systems, in what are seen as complex patterns of medical pluralism that provide evidence of an evolving role the TH plays in primary health care, in the rural and urban space. Youthful migrating population dynamics that are linked to historical processes, have effectively carved an emerging cross-sectoral role of the TH in the formal space. Secondly the developing legislation on IPR and ABS in parallel with the representation of an earlier official formal governance around TMK in Tanzania; and the difference in the sectors where TMK is anchored in the two contexts, could have paved way to some earlier collaborative mechanisms, that today provide space to enable a more natural engagement between formal and informal organizations involved in the governance of TMK in Tanzania. Thirdly, the practical ways in which TMK learning processes, which are characterized by learning systems in place, being sent and visiting sacred places that are lived by an apprentice over a number of years, have increasingly come under pressure. Fourthly the thesis shows approaches by THs, encouraging the youth to access conventional medicinal education followed by, or in parallel with TMK learned through traditional pedagogies employed by the THs themselves. The youth’s keen interest in learning TMK is seen to increase when they view improved livelihood possibilities due to the commercialization of medicinal plants. The future of TMK learning processes may be limited unless incentives are put in place for the youth regarding their future livelihoods. Fifth, gendered and generational dimensions suggest that older and some younger female THs reemphasize the values of the gift and TMK in a climate of increased commodification and commercialization of TMK, where TMK increasingly meets neoliberal processes, engaging an alternative paradigm than the gift economy, where a predominance of male TH’s in the urban space and places, increasingly define the diversification of the TMK livelihoods. The gift provided by a higher power and which is embedded in a particular cosmological view, to be used as a social service to help the community, is increasingly evolving as an emerging tested force in a changing ideological climate, with an increasing awareness of commodification, commercialization, IPR and ABS issues surrounding TMK. It implies awareness in relation to the increased benefits of commoditized and commercialized medicinal plant knowledge (which THs hold) for other individuals and institutions. The TH profession and TMK is seen as entering a contested IPR/ABS arena at a time when increasingly socio-spatial transformations are modifying its role from that of a gift to an owned commodity. However while the practice of TMK has changed over time and space, presenting new challenges as well as opportunities, it is also seen as a threat that anyone today can sell and market TMK products.