Résumé : Le développement durable est un processus d'évolution dans lequel toutes les ethnies coexistent en harmonie avec un environnement sain. Depuis une quarantaine d'années, le Laos a connu de nombreux bouleversements. Des groupes minoritaires, dont les Hmongs, ont subi les contrecoups des changements socio-politiques et économiques. Les Hmongs, qui habitent les régions montagneuses et qui pratiquent l'agriculture itinérante, sont particulièrement touchés par des inégalités économiques et sociales malgré la politique d'égalité ethnique. Les transformations progressives de leur méthode d'utilisation du sol, de leur mode de production et de leur mode de vie itinérants en sédentarisation durable deviennent fondamentales et cruciales. Les Hmongs défavorisés aspirent fortement à de meilleures conditions de vie tout comme les populations qui vivent dans les plaines. En effet, les Hmongs, qui habitent dans les régions de Lakhasipsong et de Longsan, province de Vientiane, s'adaptent aux nouvelles conditions de transformation socio-économique, soient la sédentarisation du mode de production et du mode de vie. On peut affirmer que le développement rural et communautaire permet la sédentarisation des Hmongs et que ces derniers sont aptes à s'adapter à la vie moderne. La méthode d'enquête par entrevue sur la base d'un sondage employée sur le terrain nous a permis de découvrir les caractéristiques de développement durable autant socio-économique que politique dans la province de Vientiane avec application particulière aux Hmongs. Les résultats de l'enquête démontrent que les stratégies de sédentarisation sans relocalisation et avec relocalisation sur l'initiative soit personnelle soit gouvernementale ont fait leurs preuves. Des changements dans les modes de production et de vie ont non seulement permis une meilleure utilisation du sol, une augmentation de la production et une amélioration des conditions de vie mais aussi une meilleure préservation de l'écosystème.||Abstract : Sustainable development is an evolutionary process in which all ethnie groups live in harmony with a healthy environment. For approximately forty years, Laos has been subjected to many disruptions. Minority groups, like the Hmong, have felt the full impact of the numerous socio-political and economic changes that took place in the country. The Hmong, in particular, who live in mountainous regions and practice slash and burn agriculture, have suffered from economic and social inequality policies praticed by previous governments. The progressive transformation of their methods of land use, their mode of production and their migrant life style must clearly be understood before any attempt at a sedentary life style with a view to a sustainable development be undertaken. The underprivileged Hmong aspire to better living conditions comparable to those of people living in the plains. More precisely, the Hmong, who live in Lakhasipsong and Longsan in the province of Vientiane, adapt to their new conditions of social and economic transformation by fixing into place their mode of production and their lifestyle. We can state that the rural community development taking place allows an effective sédentarisation for the Hmong and, that they are able to adapt themselves to modem life. The survey method by interview and randown sampling on the ground permits us to discover elements of farming development within the socio-economic as well as political life in Vientiane province with a particular application to the Hmong. The survey results in showing that settling down strategies without relocation or with relocation on personal or governmental initiative are truly operational. Changes in the mode of production and life style have not only permitted a better land use, an increased production and a better life style but also, a better conservation of the environment.

Untold Narratives: A Refugee Experience from Laos to Richmond, California is focused on the Mien refugee experience from Laos to Richmond, California. This thesis highlights the ways Cold War politics, the Secret War, and heavy industrialization have impacted Mien communities who have been displaced from their homelands into refugee camps, and again through sponsorship into the United States. This thesis looks at political theories that discuss inequalities that exist, particularly through environmental degradation and negative health impacts that Mien refugees are experiencing in their resettlement into Richmond, California. Due to the limited scholarly articles and documented narratives that are available in regards to Mien experiences, interviews were conducted to highlight the stories and experiences of Mien refugees paired with a historical background of their journey from China, to Laos, and to Richmond. Even in the face of so much struggle and hardship, many Mien people have been resilient and been successful in building community and fighting for justice.

Des élastomères renforcés modèles sont étudiés afin de mettre en relation leur structure microscopique avec leur comportement mécanique macroscopique. Tout d'abord, la dynamique des chaînes de polymères est étudiée par RMN. Nous mettons en évidence l'existence d'un gradient de température de transition vitreuse autour des charges solides. Nous interprétons ainsi le comportement de plusieurs échantillons à différentes températures avec simplement deux paramètres : l'épaisseur due aux greffons et la taille caractéristique du gradient. Ce modèle de gradient reste valable lors de l'ajout de solvant et permet également d'interpréter les résultats de calorimétrie des échantillons. Par ailleurs, les propriétés mécaniques des échantillons sont mesurées en cisaillement sinusoïdal. En plus de l'effet Payne classiquement observé pour les élastomères renforcés, une non harmonicité des signaux est détectée. Leur analyse montre la présence d'un raidissement et d'une rhéofluidification à l'intérieur de chaque cycle de sollicitation. Par comparaison avec des simulations obtenues par le modèle de renforcement par ponts vitreux, nous pouvons attribuer ce comportement à la cinétique de destruction - reformation des ponts vitreux au cours des sollicitations. Enfin, l'arrangement des particules dans chaque échantillon est déterminé grâce à des simulations Monte-Carlo inverses à partir de résultats de diffusion de neutrons. En faisant le lien avec les mesures de dynamique, nous montrons qu'en plus de la couche de polymère vitreux autour des particules, il existe une fraction de polymère plus faiblement ralenti qui joue un rôle non négligeable dans l'effet Payne.

<p>Claims of injustice in global forest governance are prolific: assertions of colonization, marginalization and disenfranchisement of forest-dependent people, and privatization of common resources are some of the most severe allegations of injustice resulting from globally-driven forest conservation initiatives. At its core, the debate over the future of the world's forests is fraught with ethical concerns. Policy makers are not only deciding how forests should be governed, but also who will be winners, losers, and who should have a voice in the decision-making processes. For 30 years, policy makers have sought to redress the concerns of the world's 1.6 billion forest-dependent poor by introducing rights-based and participatory approaches to conservation. Despite these efforts, however, claims of injustice persist. This research examines possible explanations for continued claims of injustice by asking: What are the barriers to delivering justice to forest-dependent communities? Using data collected through surveys, interviews, and collaborative event ethnography in Laos and at the Tenth Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, this dissertation examines the pursuit of justice in global forest governance across multiple scales of governance. The findings reveal that particular conceptualizations of justice have become a central part of the metanormative fabric of global environmental governance, inhibiting institutional evolution and therewith perpetuating the justice gap in global forest governance.</p> / Dissertation

Les jeunes enfants t'ai dam du village de Nakham (Nord-Laos) sont, dès leur venue au monde, plongés dans - et intégrés à - un monde d'adultes dont ils explorent et parcourent librement tous les temps, tous les espaces, toutes les activités. Leur engagement, précoce et intense, est toléré et même interprété en termes de volonté de faire par les adultes de leur entourage. Cependant, décrit comme relevant du jeu, cet engagement est très exceptionnellement rapporté à un processus d'apprentissage. Les enfants se caractérisent en effet par une immaturité qui se pose tout à la fois dans les termes de la corporéité et dans ceux de la raison. D'une part, ils sont intrinsèquement souillés, ils manquent de fermeté, leurs composantes corporelles sont mal arrimées, leur sexuation encore indéterminée. D'autre part, ils ne connaissent pas le " langage des personnes ". La raison elle-même est conçue, de même que les autres dimensions de la cognition, comme située dans un organe, le cœur. Dès lors, du point de vue t'ai dam, il s'agit plus d'accompagner et de soutenir la croissance des enfants, que de leur transmettre des savoirs qu'ils ne sont de toute façon pas prêts à recevoir. De plus, certains de ces savoirs sont intimement et indissociablement liés à l'accession à l'âge d'homme et de femme : les savoir-faire sexués que sont le travail du coton pour les femmes, et celui du bois et du bambou pour les hommes. Que se passe-t-il donc alors quand les enfants ne sont pas en train d'apprendre ou qu'au contraire leurs parents concèdent que c'est bien là ce qu'ils font ? Quelles sont les relations de l'être au savoir et à l'apprentissage ? Quel rôle les T'ai Dam attribuent-ils à l'apprentissage dans le devenir des personnes ? Comment est-il possible pour l'anthropologue d'articuler les ethnothéories t'ai dam de l'ontogenèse, de la connaissance et de l'apprentissage avec ce que ses propres présupposés théoriques et son propre rapport au savoir lui permettent d'entrevoir et d'interpréter de la réalité t'ai dam ? Ces questions inscrivent l'exploration de la prime enfance dans le cadre plus large d'une anthropologie de l'apprentissage et du savoir. C'est finalement l'incarnation de la personne qui permet qu'adviennent des savoirs qui n'auront pas eu besoin d'être appris : au cœur de ce questionnement et des réponses vers lesquelles je tends se trouve le corps comme " fondement existentiel ".

The aim of this thesis is to get a better understanding of the role of practical work in physics education in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). The Lao PDR is one of least developed countries in the world with a weak base for science, and poor market opportunities for science graduates. The rapidly expanding educational system has many problems concerning quality of the infrastructure and staff competence. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used in the study in order to assure reliability of the results. Data was collected through questionnaires, interviews, video-recordings, and my own ethnographic experiences of working in the Lao educational system for more than thirty years. The study was informed and results analysed with help of curriculum perspective and Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). The findings show that Lao physics education curriculum at all levels is dominated by very traditional forms of teaching with an almost total absence of practical. Official curricular documents have statements prescribing teachers to do practical work in high school and university courses. However, few institutions have functioning equipment and skilled teachers for organising practical activities. Therefore, the majority of Lao students come to university and even can finish university without experience of practical work in physics. This shows the gap that exists between intended and implemented curricula. The majority of the students understand the importance of having practical activities in physics. However, after being exposed to laboratory experiments in an introductory physics course, they expressed criticism about the quality of instruction and the process of the practical work organisation. The laboratory group work analysis showed that discussions were mainly focused on understanding the experimental procedures, manipulating equipment, and collecting data for the report rather than on the physics content (object of activity, in CHAT terms). Based on the research results, it is possible to suggest that a systemic approach is needed to stimulate the development of a new practical work culture in schools and universities. This approach should include training and incentives for science teachers, development of assessment strategies including practical work, maintenance structures for physics equipment, and technical support for the organisation of demonstrations and laboratory exercises.

Educational services have become Australia's third largest export industry. Onshore delivery of higher education has been a major export for many years, and in recent years offshore delivery of vocational education and training has grown to become a major part of this industry. Different Australian educational institutions are involved in delivery of Australian VET programs in a wide range of cultural and socioeconomic contexts. Because of the strong demand for skills in an increasingly interconnected world, this growing industry, which at an international level encompasses a diverse range of institutions, training delivery methods and management and administrative arrangements, is increasingly directing its attention towards globalising its regulatory and training approaches. The aim of this research is to investigate the process of adapting Training Packages and the Australian Quality Training Framework, the two main instruments of regulation in the Australian skill formation system, for an international audience. This thesis will examine what process of adaptation is involved when the Australian VET approaches are used as a model to develop skills formation overseas. Factors influencing the forms taken by this regulatory system in a global context will be studied through investigating the international activities of various Australian sectors in implementation of VET approaches in non-Australian systems. Two propositions underpin this key question. First is that the Australian VET system is primarily a regulatory system, which means that the export of these regulations needs to be accounted for. Secondly, the Australian VET system has been designed for Australian industrial and cultural conditions and adjustments are necessary in the regulations themselves, host country regulat ory practice, or both for Training Packages to work in these non-Australian cultural contexts.

The ecotourism industry is experiencing increasing popularity as the demand grows for tourism that is environmentally sensitive, informative, and beneficial for local communities. For over a decade, Lao PDR, an underdeveloped country, has been promoting its 20 National Protected Areas as ecotourism destinations. These ecotourism projects are positioned as tools for protecting natural resources and reducing poverty, and are generating hope for the creation of local sustainable development. At this point in time, however, the Lao government lacks effective strategies for ensuring their long term success. This thesis was designed to address this concern by analysing the potential for one of these projects, Xe Pian ecotourism, to contribute to local sustainable development. The current outcomes of the Xe Pian ecotourism project were analysed and input was sought from all stakeholders concerning ideas for desirable strategies. Kiet Ngong village, located inside the Xe Pian NPA, Lao PDR, was selected for case study. Data was gathered by employing mostly quantitative methods consisting of semi-structured interviews, informal and formal interviews, private walks and observation, and questionnaire surveys. The findings illustrated that ecotourism in Kiet Ngong has impacted local livelihoods and other environmental, economic, social, and cultural factors in both positive and negative ways. However, the positive effects of Xe Pian ecotourism were found to be more significant than the negative effects. Importantly, Kiet Ngong residents expressed optimism about the future of ecotourism and have claimed that any negative consequences cannot discourage their desire for continuing ecotourism development. This research also revealed that the stakeholders involved in the project are able to offer a variety of strategies for resolving problems that have arisen along the way. Results from this study identified three main points that need to be addressed in order to maintain Xe Pian ecotourism, namely the promotion of economic and political empowerment of the local population, the development of external and internal regulations, and the adoption of a community-based ecotourism approach. Further recommendations are offered for the policy planners of both the government and the project‘s administrative bodies, as well as for the residents of Kiet Ngong. These are followed by additional suggestions for further study.

<p dir="ltr">Understanding the nonlinear rheological properties of food is essential for improving processes involving large-amplitude deformation such as pumping, extrusion, and consumer consumption. The development of mathematical analyses for analyzing these nonlinear responses has witnessed a notable upswing in the past decades. A novel mathematical analysis called "Sequence of Physical Processes" (SPP) was developed by Rogers et al. in 2011. Ever since, SPP has shown tremendous potential in characterizing and predicting the nonlinear rheological behavior of soft materials and polymers, yet more investigations are required to validate the efficacy of the SPP approach in the realm of food materials. Therefore, this thesis focuses on applying SPP method onto a range of food materials. Most importantly, we compared the analysis with the results obtained from the well-established Ewoldt-McKinley method of coupling “Fourier Transform with Chebyshev Decomposition” (FTC). As a result, it is found that SPP can provide a detailed picture of the material’s deformation history within an oscillation cycle. The time-dependent nature of SPP data allows a more accurate capture of important rheological transitions, which leads to a higher correlation with compositional and microstructural changes in comparison to the FTC method. Recognizing the potential of SPP analysis in studying food materials, this research emphasizes the necessity for further exploration across a diverse array of food types. The thesis contributes valuable insights to the evolving landscape of nonlinear rheological understanding, with the potential to improving methodologies in food processing.</p>

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