This paper utilises Appraisal Theory to critically analyse staff perceptions, aspirations, expectations and practices of recycling in an Australian regional university. The analysis focuses attention on the lexico-grammatical resources that participants used to manage interpersonal meaning in semi-structured interviews. The analysis is framed within the context of Education for Sustainability in the Higher Education sector.

In 1998 the Solomon Islands descended into chaos and conflict. Rising tensions that had been brewing for years erupted into open violence between militants from the island provinces of Guadacanal and Malaita. The subsequent five years of crisis and lawlessness prompted a large scale regional intervention, and has resulted in a dramatic makeover of the state. Many other peace building efforts have worked alongside the state-building process, and this case study examines the impact of a number of peace approaches. Reflecting upon peace practice in the context of the Solomon Islands requires viewing the conflict and the subsequent attempts at building peace through a number of lenses. We explore the multiple and interlinked factors that worked together to cause parts of the nation to collapse into conflict. We explore the dynamics of building peace, and we reflect that there have been, and continue to be, parallel processes working at brokering peace, creating stability and (re-)creating and realizing a more sustainable peace. One is self-organizing, emergent and bottom up. It focuses upon reconciliation as a means to peace, valuing and using traditional conflict resolution processes. This has been an organic, self organizing network of communities and organizations, both secular and religious, that has focused upon healing and repair from a broader human security perspective. The other process, according to all interviewed, is an imposed system that aims to reconstitute the state as the main arbiter of order and stability. Although this effort is more visible and better funded, this process has concentrated upon what was necessary in terms of state repair, but this has proven to be insufficient. The other process is The Solomon Islands are still working through a dynamic process of nurturing and cultivating a sustainable peace. This case study addresses the dynamics, at times chronologically and at times thematically.

Higher education has been assigned a key role as a significant change agent in the pursuit of sustainability. Consequently many universities are investigating whole-of-university approaches to sustainability. Whole-of-university approaches suggest a shared vision of and commitment to sustainability and sustainable practices. However, sustainability is a complex, multi-faceted and contested concept and universities comprise communities of diverse perspectives and conflicting values. This paper analyses semi-structured interviews with staff at an Australian regional university in order ascertain their particular / preferred perceptions of sustainability.

Human activities are known to impact the physical template of river channels. These impacts can result from deliberate, direct modifications as well as via indirect processes linked to broadscale landscape change. This study examined changes in the physical template of the Barwon-Darling River, a dryland river in southeastern Australia. Historical longitudinal profiles from the late 1800s were compared with contemporary profiles derived from high-definition, side scanning sonar. Comparisons focused on characterising waterhole features as they are a critical biophysical component of dryland rivers. The use of historical data presented several challenges related to small sample size and suspected sampling bias in the historical survey. However, this study demonstrates that these issues are not insurmountable providing the limitations and uncertainties with the data are acknowledged and data analyses are limited to parameters that can distinguish genuine landscape change. The findings revealed a dramatic change in the physical template of the Barwon-Darling River over a 120-yr period. Waterhole depths and distances between waterholes have been altered significantly. The magnitude and trajectory of change was found to be scale-dependent, with the greatest observable change aligned with the presence or absence of low-level weirs. Waterholes influenced by low-level weirs have increased in depth because of localised impoundment, whilst the distance between deep waterholes (>4 m in depth) has declined substantially. In contrast, the maximum depths of waterholes located outside the influence of weir pools has declined by 1.6 m and the distance between deep waterholes has more than doubled in several reaches. These declines are likely to be caused by sediment accumulation in waterholes associated with anthropogenic increases in sediment flux and a decline in the river's capacity to entrain and transport sediment throughout the system.

Myanmar's path to democracy, freedom and development has been marred by emerging Buddhist religious extremism targeted against the Rohingya Muslims. This article examines the rise of Buddhist religious extremism in Myanmar. Its core focus is on the political economy of state-building and development, and the structural and social conditions that have produced violence. We argue that contested state-society relations, negotiated by the discourse of state-building and development rather than religion and religious ideologies alone, can better explain the current dynamics of extremist violence in Myanmar. We show that hegemonic state-building processes (that have been ongoing since Myanmar became independent in 1948) and exploitative development serve as a site for inequalities and discriminatory policies. These policies and their manipulation for political and developmental gains have had multiple social effects: they have radicalised a section of Buddhists, resulting in the rise of violent religious extremism, and marginalisation and double victimisation of the Rohingya Muslims, targeted by the State security forces as well as Buddhist extremist groups.

Human adaptive capacity is increasingly understood as an important element of human flourishing and sustainability and yet the question of how we cultivate the capacities for transformation and human flourishing remains. This thesis introduces the Engaged Identity approach and examines the intersections of how we enact and embody identity, complexity, and adaptability. As a practice, it works to build the adaptive capacity of individuals and support identity expansion in order to create sustainable relationships. Grounded in identity theory, complexity science, and contemplative practice, the approach serves as a foundation on which frameworks and methodologies for conflict transformation and peacebuilding can exist. Furthermore, it proposes that without the cultivation of these capacities, regardless of the theoretical framework or methodology used, sustainable relationships and solutions are not possible. The thesis provides an overview of the Engaged Identity approach, examines the literature that grounds the praxis, and analyzes a case study, comprised of six training workshops held in Nigeria from October 2013 through August 2014. Examining how the approach aligns with and enhances conflict transformation processes, this thesis argues for an intravative approach to conceptualizing, cultivating, and enacting human adaptive capacity and transformative processes. Through phenomenological and grounded theory methodology, the study uses survey, interview, and participatory observations to document participants experiences and observations on the effects of the approach and the implications for inclusion in the broader context for adaptive and transformative praxis.

The final evaluation of the Empowering Women and Increasing Access to Justice (WEA2J) project was conducted in a one-month period between October and November 2013, the very end of the project's duration. Specifically, the evaluation served to measure, using qualitative and quantitative methodologies, the processes of implementation, to what extent the project goals and objectives were achieved following the project framework, and identify any unanticipated negative outcomes and success stories.

The shift in armed conflict from inter-state to predominantly intra-state conflicts has seen a growing progression of sophistication in the type of United Nations peacekeeping operation that has been mounted to address these now prevailing conflicts. Concomitant with this change has come an increasing inability of peacekeepers to cope with the complexity of the mandates upon which each new peacekeeping mission is based. This has resulted in failures of various proportions for United Nations peacekeeping missions. A new model of peacekeeping that can significantly contribute globally to a culture of peace is now required. This thesis presents a model, based on a civilian-military partnership. This partnership is conceptualized to reaffirm the United Nations as the world's foremost peacekeeping agent by endorsing the essential role of the military, but also by affmning the central value of civilian commitment to foster the activism of indigenous communities in the recovery process.

This thesis presents an in-depth qualitative case study of the efforts of six classrooms in three Solomon Islands' secondary schools to integrate peace education into their teaching of the social studies curriculum at junior secondary level. It has been claimed that teaching peace has the potential to create a culture of peace and healing in conflict and post-conflict societies and thus in turn to advance a civilisation of peace that extends beyond the post-conflict era. In order to address such claims, classroom observation was conducted in three community high schools, simultaneously over a period of four months. Using the critical features of peace education and curriculum policy, the integration of peace into classroom practice is described. Distinctions between these features in relation to theory and policy are examined as they emerged 'in practice,' allowing indigenous peace practices to inform the classroom curriculum. Building on these empirically grounded findings, this thesis strongly supports the integration of indigenous-based peace practices and perspectives into the curriculum. The diversity within cultures affords an opportunity to understand school curricula as culturally situated. Through the analysis, the concept of peace is understood as the basis upon which a curriculum is constructed. Through the analysis, the concept of peace is understood as the basis upon which a curriculum is constructed. The study demonstrates that a classroom peace curriculum can be culturally relevant if it is guided by a clear concept of peace. In Temotu Nendo, the conceptualisation of peace as nowe is the foundation of the culture's peacebuilding practices. In practice, nowe easily lends itself as a framework upon which the development and teaching of peace can be developed. As a case study, this research was not intended to represent the teaching of peace in all Solomon Islands' schools. However, it concludes that the case study has provided a credible and culture-specific approach to teaching peace in schools, providing insights for other cultures in the country and/or other parts of the world. The integration of peace into the school curriculum from a cultural perspective forms an important contribution to education and peacebuilding and can be extended to other areas of social practice. Finally, the thesis suggests areas for further research and discusses implications and contributions relating to theory, methodology and practice.

In Myanmar, a history of structural and ecological violence has resulted in environmental degradation, loss of livelihoods and food insecurity for agrarian populations. This is resulting in the breakdown of traditional communities. It is anticipated that industrialised, modernisation processes will exacerbate the situation. This thesis is based on a case study into a unique environmental peacebuilding initiative that has been developed by Myanmar nationals, in an effort to address some of these socio-ecological issues. A grassroots, environmental, social movement organisation, the Network for Environment and Economic Development (NEED), has established a school and eco-farm in Myanmar, and has designed an environmental adult education (EAE) program, aimed at agrarian youth. EAE is a transformative education that is a hybrid of environmental education (EE) and adult learning theory. EAE is an effective tool in addressing localised environmental problems. Also, its praxis, when applied widely at the local level, has the potential to influence regional, state and global social and political institutions. NEED is educating young adults from a variety of ethnic groups, in land law, human rights, environmentalism, and the practice of permaculture. NEED has created a learning community; a space for new ecological voices and perspectives. The objective of this research is to see how this particular EAE model is contributing to environmental peace in Myanmar. This is important with regard to environmental and food insecurity issues in this rapidly developing nation. It is also important in light of the global systemic crisis of inequality, environmental injustice and climate change. The thesis discusses attempts to live simply and peacefully in a world that, despite 'sustainability' rhetoric, often forces us to do just the opposite, and is a unique contribution to the research into informal critical adult education for social action, and for environmental peacebuilding. It is also an example of grassroots activism emerging from the global South. The study utilizes Paulo Freire's notion of 'conscientization' (critical consciousness), critical social theory, as well as the writings of critical theorist Herbert Marcuse, and a Marxist theory of social movements, as lenses through which to analyse the learning that is occurring within this program, as well as the potential it has for broader, transformative social action.

The question of self-determination has re-entered the center stage of world affairs in the 21st century. While the right of self-determination in the 20th century was for most part clothed in legal language and reduced to a privilege of 'State-determination,' the events that the world has witnessed in Kosovo, South Sudan, Egypt, Libya, Burma, Syria over the last ten years indicate the peoples' increasing desire to recover their self-determining capacities. These emerging trends have created conditions for the 21st century to be a century of 'peoples-determination' that is based on their values, dreams and imagination. The primary reason for this research study comes from the awareness that an unrepresented peoples' perspective is largely missing from existing literature on self-determination affecting their future. This research will strengthen it by providing a perspective that critically analyzes the State system which has denied the right to self-determination of all peoples. This denial has been the source of protracted and violent conflicts; and by equating the language of self-determination to secession and State sovereignty, it has affectively reduced the capacity of self-determination as a resource for JustPeace.

High-level nation-building efforts seem unlikely to bring durable peace at village level, at least until local reconciliation processes are respected and integrated into wider reconstruction efforts. A question many Solomon Islanders ask is, "What will happen if RAMSI [the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands] eventually leaves?" In a survey conducted in 2010, some 84 percent of respondents backed the presence of RAMSI, mostly attributing their support to the likelihood that, if the mission were to leave, there would be a breakdown in law and order. As if to underline these risks, when a new prime minister was elected by parliament on 16 November 2011, the result was met with mixed reactions from the public. A violent protest in Honiara claimed to represent the people's wish for the immediate resignation of the newly elected premier. The demonstrations suggest that a sustainable peace in the Solomon Islands still remains a mission to be accomplished. RAMSI's mandate focuses on maintaining law and order and a state-focused system that concentrates on bolstering the mechanisms of the government departments. While these approaches are necessary, a more organic, community-driven system that concentrates on healing tensions and bolstering intra-community relations as a tenet for sustainable peace needs to be supported.

This thesis presents an in-depth qualitative case study of the Solomon Islands Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) - the first truth commission in the Pacific. Proposed by civil society and church networks during the Solomon Islands conflict, known locally as 'the tensions', the TRC was initially envisaged as a means to prompt reconciliation and build peace during the crisis. Several years later, after the arrival of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) and the restoration of law and order, the 'Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act 2008' was passed in parliament and the TRC was established with a mandate to 'promote national unity and reconciliation'. In February 2012, the TRC's final report was handed to the prime minister. Despite being widely read by Solomon Islanders and others worldwide after being unofficially leaked in early 2013, it has yet to be tabled in parliament or officially released.

This dissertation seeks to explain why successive Thai governments have failed in maintaining peace through conducting reconciliation processes. Relying on a public survey and quantitative analysis, it argues that the reconciliation process conducted by several governments during the past decade failed because trust building–both in terms of trust in national institutions and trust among the people–has been ignored. The neglect of the Thai governments to invest time and other resources in building trust has made the term reconciliation unpopular and created perceptions of the reconciliation process as being conducted as a means for the people holding state power to defeat the people of opposing groups rather that a means of resolving conflict problems and reconciling society. This dissertation thus recommends that the government as one of the most important political institutions for the facilitation of a reconciliation process must seek the ways to increase its trustworthiness in the eyes of the public. Interactive channels must also be made available to the people to communicate together, to build understanding, and to exchange opinions; especially channels for broad-based discussions about the pathway to transform the conflicts and the future of this country in order to build trust between the people. Without these recognitions and mechanisms, the political conflicts in Thailand could not been transformed to durable peace.