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Faculty of Science School of Biology 9410199j TEL: 011 673 8139 / I studied the sociality and activity patterns of free-living ice rats Otomys sloggetti robertsi. The ice rat is a medium-sized, diurnal, herbivorous rodent, endemic to the alpine habitats of the southern Drakensberg and Maluti Mountains in southern Africa. These environments are characterized by sub-zero temperatures in winter and high levels of solar radiation in summer, and snow can be expected at any time of the year. Previous research by other scientists indicated that the physiology of ice rats is more similar to congeners living at lower altitudes, and, instead the taxon has morphological and behavioural adaptations for coping with the temperature extremes in its environment. Predator pressure on ice rats was negligible in my study site, making the ice rat an ideal model for testing how environmental factors influence sociality and activity patterns. Sociality was investigated by using direct observations and through experimental manipulations. Colonies comprised 4-17 individuals with several reproductively active males and females. Colony members had a high degree of home range overlap, whereas interactions between colony members were rare and usually resulted in agonistic behaviour. Ice rats responded aggressively to experimentally-caged colony members positioned in different parts of their own colony and these were treated with the same level of aggression as were strangers. Moreover, colony members competed aggressively for better-quality introduced food, particularly in winter. From direct observations of male-female interactions, it appeared that ice rats mate promiscuously, which is most likely a consequence of the multi-male and multi-female colonies. Females spent long periods of time belowground with unweaned young which emerged aboveground independently at four weeks of age. The first litter born in a season dispersed at sexual maturity (males±14 weeks; females±9 weeks), but, since I did not observe the behaviour of litters born later in the breeding season, I was not able to tell if these dispersed as well. I excavated the burrow systems of ice rats and found an intricate interlinking underground tunnel system with sometimes more than 25 entrance holes and 1-2 nesting chambers, which would provide a thermoneutral refuge for the ice rats at night as well as during adverse weather conditions. Because the ratio of the number of animals in the colony to III the number of nest chambers exceeded one, I predicted that huddling occurs belowground, which was confirmed by video recordings of nest chambers. Diurnal aboveground activity patterns of ice rats were influenced by prevailing environmental conditions, which resulted in synchronous aboveground appearance of members in a colony. The summer activity pattern was bimodal, dominated by foraging and sun basking behaviour aboveground, with animals retreating belowground to escape high temperatures and radiation levels prevalent around midday. Ice rats utilized the warmer temperatures throughout the day in winter for aboveground foraging and basking. Otomys s. robertsi displays a spatial shift in its social system: colony members huddle belowground but display temporal territoriality aboveground. Such a social system is contrary to predictions previously made for this taxon (i.e. they live as family groups). Ice rat relatives living at lower altitudes mainly occur as non-social aggregations and one relative, the vlei rat O. irroratus, also displays temporal territoriality. Although sociality is common in rodents inhabiting temperate environments in the northern hemisphere, these rodents do not show territoriality at other times. I conclude that the social system of ice rats, in the absence of significant predation pressure, is determined by a combination of 1) environmental factors driving communal thermoregulation and 2) phylogenetic constraints imposed by competition for limited food resources.

This thesis explores antecedents and effects of public and private acculturation preferences of minority and majority group members. By differentiating between acculturation in public domains (outside one's home) and private domains (at home), and by reporting experiments, longitudinal data, and qualitative data, this thesis provides fuller insights in the acculturation process than previous literature, which has predominantly been correlational and lacked domain specificity. Chapter one provides a critical overview of the acculturation literature. Chapter two describes the results of three experiments investigating domain specificity in meta-perceptions of acculturation. In Study 1, we manipulated how Muslims were perceived to acculturate in public domains, and investigated how this affected own acculturation preferences and affective reactions of British majority members. Study 2 was similar, but perceived private acculturation preferences were manipulated too. In Study 3, we examined how the public and private acculturation preferences which British majority members were perceived to have affected own acculturation preferences and affective reactions of Muslim minority members. Chapter three presents Studies 4 and 5 which experimentally investigated the effect of perceived ingroup norms about acculturation preferences for public and private life domains. Dependent variables were majority members' own acculturation preferences for public and private domains, their investment in acculturation, and positive affect felt towards their own ingroup members. This was studied in both England and Chile. Chapter four looks into effects of public and private acculturation of Muslim minority members on their well-being and intergroup emotions. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal data are presented from two samples: Muslims in England (Study 6) and Muslims in the Netherlands (Study 7). Chapter five reports interviews with fourteen Muslims living in England in which they explain their reasons for their public and private acculturation choices (Study 8). Chapter six summarises the findings, and discusses implications and directions for future research.

Anti-social behaviour (herein ASB) has become important socially, politically and culturally in the United Kingdom over the past fifteen years. Successive Governments have prioritised tackling ASB, with a plethora of legislation being introduced to tackle low-level nuisance behaviour. The Crime and Disorder Act (1998) shaped much of the policy in relation to ASB, with the flagship policy of anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) being introduced alongside other punitive measures. Alongside the dramatic increase in policy aimed at criminalising nuisance behaviour, a large literature has emerged spanning the social sciences, allied health sciences and criminology fields. Despite a large number of studies examining ASB, none has thus far explored ASB in rural locations. Given that Scotland is a predominantly rural country, it is important that a concept that has driven a large part of the criminal justice agenda is conceptualised in rural locations. Despite the Social Attitudes Survey highlighting the fact that rural areas statistically suffer from less ASB, there is a commonly held (mis)conception that this means that the impact of ASB on rural areas is also less (Ormston & Anderson, 2009). There is also an assumption in the existing literature that because there is statistically less ASB in rural areas, that ASB is less serious than that which exists in urban locations. In addition to a general lack of theorisation of ASB in rural Scotland, the challenges of responding to ASB over a large geographic area adds an interesting and important spatial dimension to the way that ASB is tackled. The core argument in this thesis, therefore, is that the distinctive characteristics of rural environments are central to understanding the nature, meaning and impact of ASB in this environment. This thesis therefore begins to redress the lack of work on ASB in rural locations by conceptualising and analysing the nature and impact of, and responses to, ASB in two case study locations in rural Scotland. Garland’s theorisation of the new culture of crime control which emerged in the late 90s provides a helpful urban focused framework to examine debates around rural ASB (Garland, 1996). Drawing on the existing urban-based ASB literature, the thesis begins by critically examining whether ASB that occurs in rural locations is distinct from that witnessed in urban environments. This thesis argues that, although there are distinct aspects to the ASB present in the rural Scottish case studies, the ASB experienced typically mirrors that experienced in urban locations rather than reflecting a distinct form of rural ASB. Nevertheless, the rural context fundamentally shapes the impact that ASB has on rural communities. The thesis draws on criminological and rural literatures to argue that a more sophisticated approach, where scale, harm and context are central components of the way that the impact of ASB on rural communities is understood, needs to be developed. The limited rural literature examining crime often neglects the everyday, lived reality of the impact of ASB and crime on remote populations, instead tending to focus on the structural challenges associated with tackling ASB. Exploring the impact of ASB at this micro-scale illuminates interesting differences between the urban conceptualisations of ASB and those found in the rural. Progressing up to the meso-scale is important for understanding ways that the police and other actors respond to ASB in rural locations. The challenges associated with the scale of rural locations is apparent through the response of the police and other agencies to ASB. This thesis argues that, in contrast to the way that ASB is conceptualised in rural locations, there is a distinct rural policing response to ASB with a distinct interaction between agencies, the community and the police which is enabled by the scale at which each operates. ASB in rural locations therefore tends to be tackled in a more holistic manner, in which the circumstances of the individuals involved tend to be considered before the appropriate interventions are made. Context and scale therefore play a key role in understanding the response of various actors to ASB. Combining these three conceptual inputs, this study engages with an area of ASB which has hitherto received scant attention. In contrast to much of the existing urban ASB literature, which treats the context as a passive entity, this thesis argues that ‘the rural’ is a key contextual part of understanding the nature and impact of, and responses to, ASB. Far from being a peripheral part of the ASB literature, the rural environment therefore should be considered of key importance for understanding ASB in other contexts.

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The present study examined social status and adult neurogenesis in the naked mole rat. These animals live in large colonies with a strict reproductive dominance hierarchy; one female and 1-3 males breed, while other members are subordinate and reproductively suppressed. We examined whether social status affects doublecortin (DCX; a marker for immature neurons) immunoreactivity in the dentate gyrus, piriform cortex (PCx), and basolateral amygdala (BLA) by comparing breeders to subordinates. We also examined subordinates removed from their colony and paired with opposite- or same-sex conspecifics for 6 months. Breeders had reduced DCX immunoreactivity in all areas, with BLA effects confined to females. Effects of housing condition were region-specific, with higher PCx DCX immunoreactivity observed in opposite- than same-sex paired subordinates regardless of gonadal status. The opposite pattern was observed in the BLA. Future work will clarify whether findings are attributable to status differences in stress, behavioural plasticity, or life stage.

Multisystemic Therapy (MST) provides intensive short-term interventions for young people with antisocial behaviour and the systems that surround them. A wealth of research over the past 30 years has demonstrated the efficacy of MST. Its success has led to it being transported to many countries and this prompted investigations into the need for cultural adaptation. Despite these investigations highlighting the importance of tailoring MST to new countries, when MST was transported to England in 2001, it did not undergo a formal process of cultural tailoring. This study employed a qualitative approach using a Grounded Theory methodology to explore the assumption that all transported programmes require a level of adaptation and aimed to identify the processes and rationale behind informal ‘cultural tailoring' undertaken by therapists. It aimed to explore areas in MST that might benefit from ‘cultural tailoring' to improve the effectiveness of its implementation in England. Eight MST therapists from across three MST teams in England participated in semi-structured interviews. Analysis of the data generated a theoretical model of adherence: the Post Implementation Model of Adherence (PIMA). The PIMA model seeks to explain how therapists in England experience and manage adhering to MST. It proposes that MST therapists strive to adhere to all aspects of the MST model whilst ensuring that it is acceptable and workable for the families and systems they work with. The PIMA model comprised four theoretical codes: Facilitators to therapists staying faithful to the MST model; barriers to therapists implementing MST, overcoming barriers to implementing MST; and the therapist holding the tension. The findings highlight important cultural adjustments to improve MST's ‘fit' in England. Findings also extend Schoenwald's (2008) recommendations for successful transportation of MST, by drawing attention to how a lack of cultural tailoring can be overcome or experienced as stressful by therapists.

MSc, Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, 1969