Lesjöfors, located in the municipality of Filipstad in Värmland, has a mining history dating back to the 1600s. In the mid-1970s, however, Lesjöfors, like Bergslagen at large, suffered from the international recession, and structural change had a major impact on this region, affecting society as well as individuals. These transformations form the basis of this thesis. In today’s society, knowledge or training is constantly in demand. However, the political context does not always allow for a consideration of the impact of decisions on small local communities and individuals in rural areas. Even the most well-intentioned politician and decision-maker may find themselves in the cultural trap of seeing "the others", "ordinary people" in a certain light or perspective. In a world that increasingly emphasizes knowledge, it is important to discuss what this development actually means to people. This thesis investigates the importance of local knowledge traditions in a mining district during an eventful historical phase. The main focus is on men and the role that local knowledge traditions – including knowledge patterns and knowledge ideals – have played in their choice of education. The study covers the period 1940-2010, which was marked by both industrial progress and drastic decline, and offers the opportunity to identify change over time. The study shows that there are clear trends in today's society to educate people, get them to break with the past, adopt new lifestyles and rational approaches. In Lesjöfors it is no longer possible to live the way people used to, that is, like their ancestors, to enter the industry as they reach full maturity. This means that the need to adapt to the requirements of a new situation while retaining the knowledge and identity of the past creates social conflicts of interests and an ambivalent situation for the individual. / ”Jag minns första gången jag besökte Lesjöfors och stod öga mot öga med denna miljö. Stora förfallna fabriksbyggnader, ödsliga gator och rost. I en bygd där järnet varit så självklart verkade all den här rosten så påtagligt tragisk. Det är inte svårt att förstå att när stålindustrin mer eller mindre havererade – det ska sägas att det fortfarande finns en fungerande verksamhet här om än i mycket mindre skala – måste det ha skakat om människors liv rejält”… Så inleder Ramona Ivener denna avhandling som centreras kring den värmländska bruksorten Lesjöfors under den andra delen av 1900-talet, en omvälvande period kännetecknad av både industriell framgång och drastisk nedgång. Undersökningen rör sig kring dessa förändringar, särskilt de som uppstod i samband med stålkrisen under 1970-talet och hur de påverkat de lesjöforska männens syn på kunskap och utbildning. I dagens samhälle finns en efterfrågan på hög formell utbildning, det är dock inte alltid man inom politiska sammanhang tar ställning till vilka konsekvenser beslutsfattande får för små lokalsamhällen och individer i glesbygd. Avhandlingen belyser problematiken och relationen mellan kunskapstradition, maskulinitet och förändring åren 1940-2010.   RAMONA IVENER är född 1978. Kunskapens händer är hennes doktorsavhandling i historia. / Läsa och leva

Orientador: Celio Hiratuka / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Economia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-27T09:48:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Lugli_VanessaMoraes_M.pdf: 1080123 bytes, checksum: c7ea476aa37ad950221c70eeee41168c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: A mudança estrutural pode ser entendida como uma transformação de longo prazo da estrutura produtiva de um país estando, portanto, intrinsecamente relacionada ao desenvolvimento econômico. Nesse processo, os setores e as atividades produtivas crescem a velocidades diferentes, alterando assim a sua participação na geração do produto e do emprego agregados. Nas últimas décadas, iniciou-se um debate, não apenas nos países desenvolvidos, mas também em desenvolvimento, como o Brasil, sobre a ocorrência de um processo de desindustrialização dessas economias, dado pela retração do setor industrial em contrapartida à expansão do setor de serviços. Considerando que, dentro deste debate, o setor de serviços foi analisado como uma categoria residual, composto por diversas atividades muito distintas entre si e que não se encaixavam na classificação de agropecuária ou indústria, sua análise de forma agregada pode ser problemática, levando a resultados e conclusões imprecisos. Sendo assim, esse trabalho se propõe a analisar de forma detalhada o setor de serviços no Brasil no período entre 2000 e 2012, compreendendo melhor a sua estrutura e a sua dinâmica, contribuindo também para qualificar essa mudança estrutural e seus impactos sobre o desenvolvimento econômico brasileiro / Abstract: Structural change can be understood as a long-term transformation of the productive structure of a country, intrinsically related to economic development. In this process, the sectors and productive activities grow at different rates, altering its participation in the generation of output and employment aggregates. In recent decades, began a debate, not only in developed countries but also in developing ones, such as Brazil, on the occurrence of a process of deindustrialisation of these economies, given the decline of the industrial sector in contrast to the expansion of the service sector. Whereas, within this debate, the service sector has been analyzed as a residual category, composed of several very different activities that did not fit in agriculture or industry classification, the analysis of aggregate form can be problematic, leading to inaccurate results and conclusions. Thus, this study aims to analyze in detail the services sector in Brazil between 2000 and 2012, to better understand their structure and its dynamics, also contributing to qualify this structural change and its impact on Brazil's economic development / Mestrado / Teoria Economica / Mestra em Ciências Econômicas

A investigação do processo de interação da enzima responsável pela hidrólise da biomassa lignocelulósica e das suas alterações estruturais são de suma importância no que diz respeito à otimização da produção do etanol de segunda geração proveniente da biomassa lignocelulósica. Neste contexto, metodologias óticas foram desenvolvidas e empregadas no presente trabalho na caracterização da interação enzimática com substrato celulósico. Basicamente, foram utilizadas espectroscopia de absorção Uv/vis, fluorescência e dicroísmo circular (CD). Fibras de eucalipto e celulose microcristalina (Avicel) foram usadas como substrato. Com o auxílio da fluorescência intrínseca da enzima Celobiohidrolase I de Thrichoderma harzianum (ThCBHI), foi possível desenvolver o método de arraste enzimático que nos permitiu determinar a dependência da interação enzima-substrato com o pH e a temperatura e estimar o número de enzimas adsorvidas na biomassa lignocelulósica. O efeito destes parâmetros sobre as estruturas secundárias da enzima ThCBHI e de sua influencia na interação enzimática também foi estudado. Medidas da seção choque efetiva de absorção demonstraram que a estrutura da ThCBHI sofreu grande influencia do pH e da temperatura, o que foi confirmado de forma complementar pela técnica de CD. Estimativas da fração de cobertura das enzimas na superfície do substrato indicam uma forte dependência da interação enzima-substrato com o pH e temperatura. Observou-se que essa interação é basicamente determinada pelas cargas efetivas acima e abaixo do ponto isoelétrico associado ao modulo de ligação à celulose, CBM. Além disso, o método colorimétrico Somogyi-Nelson (SN) permitiu quantificar com precisão pequenas quantidades de produto da hidrólise da biomassa pela enzima ThCBHI. Os resultados de atividade mostraram forte correlação entre o perfil de interação e as mudanças estruturais sofridas pela enzima ThCBHI. Com essa metodologia foi possível estimar a máxima atividade da ThCBHI durante 24 horas de reação. Os valores do produto nos permitiu computar atividades específicas de 0,1 U/mg e 0,2 U/mg para 25°C e 50°C, respectivamente. / The investigation of the interaction process of enzymes during hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass and the effect of structural changes are issues of fundamental importance in respect to optimization of ethanol second generation production. In this context, optical methodologies were developed and employed in the present work in the characterization of enzymatic interactions with cellulosic substrates. Basically, we used for this purpose absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy and circular dichroism (CD). Eucalyptus fibers and microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel) were used as substrate. The interaction between enzyme and substrate was determined by the use of enzymatic drag methodology by measuring directly the intrinsic fluorescence of the Thrichoderma harzianum Celobiohydrolases I (ThCBHI) enzymes as a function of the temperature and pH of the reaction medium. The effect of these parameters on the enzyme secondary structure was also subject of the present study. Furthermore, both effective cross-section and molar extinction coefficient of the ThCBHI were determined and correlated to structural changes due to temperature and pH, as confirmed by CD measurements. Estimation of the enzyme covering ration for eucalyptus fiber showed a strong dependence on both temperature and pH due to changes of the effective charges above and below the enzyme isoelectric point and to thermal effects on the enzymatic structure and on the enzyme-substrate interaction associated to the Carbohydrate Binding Modules (CBM). In addition, we use the Somogyi-Nelson methodology to measure very small amount of hydrolyses product. As a result, a strong correlation between interaction profile and ThCBH structural changes was demonstrated. Specific activities of 0,1 U/mg e 0,2 U/mg for 25°C e 50°C, respectively, were found for the eucalyptus fiber.

This study investigates whether code-switching practices among Sesotho-English bilinguals promote convergence between Sesotho and English. First, the study identifies different types and patterns of code-switching between Sesotho and English and analyses them using Myers-Scotton’s (1993) Matrix Language Frame model and Myers-Scotton and Jake’s (2000) 4-M model. Second, it applies the ML turnover in order to detect convergence in Sesotho-English code-switching data and to observe which direction it takes. The study also explores other factors contributing to change in the structure of Sesotho, which are not necessarily influenced by convergence. In conducting this study, data was collected through interviews that were held with younger bilingual speakers from different tertiary institutions in and around Maseru (Lesotho) and through recorded youth-centred phone-in radio programmes. Findings from the analysis of data reveal simple to complex Sesotho-English code-switching performance of various types and strategies. Findings also show through the existence of composite language in Sesotho-English code-switching that there is a turnover in the ML, which indicates a development of an asymmetrical convergence between Sesotho and English. It was also discovered that, although other changes in the Sesotho structure are not English influenced, they are enhanced mostly by younger urban bilingual speakers’ frequent “looser” approach to Sesotho. This is an indication that Sesotho’s susceptibility to change correlates strongly with age; that is, both the length of time contact between Sesotho and English has existed, and the generation in which change is mostly found. This thesis adds and documents a different perspective to the previously recorded changes on Sesotho-English contact in Lesotho.

For many decades, demand for agricultural commodities has remained stagnant and its growth has been limited. In contrast, agricultural production continues to become ever more efficient by increasing output for stable or decreased inputs. Long-run profits have historically been near zero due to an ongoing relative equilibrium. But recent U.S. energy policy has changed to include a Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), the goal of which is to boost domestic energy independence in an environmentally sound way. Most of the RFS in the near-term relies on the production of 15 billion gallons of ethanol made from corn. This has the effect of creating a new sector of demand for grain corn and subsequently supports rural economies. The RFS creates a new demand for 5.5 billion bushels of corn by 2015. At the corn-ethanol conversion ratio of 2.7 gallons per bushel, this will sustain the production of 15 billion gallons of ethanol. The RFS is a blending floor imposed on gasoline refiners. Ethanol producers, on the other hand, are not forced to supply ethanol. While the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority to implement the RFS, it does not have the ability to expand ethanol supplies. The U.S. government has therefore supported the use of ethanol through a current 45 cent tax credit for each gallon of ethanol blended into gasoline. Other financial support programs such as grants and loan guarantees are in place for ethanol refiners. Ethanol in the U.S.is primarily made from the starchy molecules in corn. One bushel of corn in a dry mill ethanol plant will produce approximately 2.7 gallons of ethanol and 17 pounds of dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) which can be used in livestock rations. A wet mill plant will produce other by-products. Ethanol can be used directly in the nation's fuel supply at limited levels of blending. Most cars in the United States can withstand the corrosive nature of ethanol in blends of up to 10% or more. But flex-fuel vehicles, which are able to operate on 85% ethanol are increasingly becoming available for sale and their use continues to grow. Corn ethanol is a very complex issue when implemented on such a large scale as the RFS dictates. The amount of transportation fuel actually displaced by its use is a hotly debated topic. In any case, the large scale production of corn ethanol has created a firm link between agricultural markets and the energy sector. Ethanol is also an environmental issue. One of the primary goals of the RFS is to combat global warming and whether or not this is achieved it currently in debate. Aside from the climate change issue, there are other environmental ramifications tied directly to ethanol such as contamination, water use and land-use change. Since the inception of the RFS, price volatility and uncertainty has never been greater. In the first half of 2008, prices for all commodities reached historically high levels. This raises the concern of the impacts with the RFS has on markets other than corn. The livestock industry and other grain markets have been affected to some degree by the RFS. This is in part due to the changing profile of the major trading participants in the commodity trading centers. All of this is related to a structural change which has taken place in the agricultural markets as a result of the RFS. Historical relationships between price, supply and demand have adjusted and currently continue to adjust. The reasons for the adjustments are founded in economic theory regarding system-wide demand shocks. In this case, the demand shock is roughly a net 50% increase in the demand for corn by 2015 compared to the most recent decade. The adjustments which take place can be summarized by three periods. In period 1, the demand curve shifts outward, equilibrium is lost and higher corn prices are observed. In period 2, the market struggles to find a new equilibrium by increasing output. This period is marked by increased volatility and market participants over and under react to price signals until the new equilibrium is discovered. Period three is represented by the discovery of a relative market equilibrium at price higher than previously, but not as high as the initial demand shock. Results from, a fundamental analysis of the grain markets show that the expected market behavior has begun to take place and agriculture finds itself in period 2 of the changes described above. While most of the price changes and acreage shifts can be explained, the degree to which prices have increased are not fully explained. A change in trading center activities (Boards of Trade, etc.) may help to further account for the new prices. A survey of brokers shows that the behavior of commercial traders has significantly changed since RFS implementation. Volatility and uncertainty have ensued. The consequences of the RFS to the farmer have also been significant. Farm income has increased significantly sufficiently to overcome the riding costs of fuel and fertilizer. The risk exposure of farmers has also changed; the data indicates that exposure to risk has increased greatly. However, the farm gate prices have been more than enough to compensate for the changes in risk.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第18587号 / 工博第3948号 / 新制||工||1607(附属図書館) / 31487 / 京都大学大学院工学研究科機械理工学専攻 / (主査)教授 北條 正樹, 教授 北村 隆行, 教授 琵琶 志朗 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DFAM

Recent literature on Antarctica has suggested that China is becoming an increasingly crucial variable in defining governance structures on the continent. The thesis claims that China plays a role in restructuring relations and thus its Antarctic governance structures. It will therefore analyze the underlying causal role of China’s shifting identity, increasingly tense interactions with other treaty parties and changed interests in the Antarctic region. The analysis is based on theoretical assumptions of Conventional Constructivism which provides means to explain changes and the importance of state identities in international relations. Methodologically, the thesis employs a comparative research design to understand the cause-and-effect relationship between the independent and dependent variable. The thesis concludes that China is influencing governance structures by causing friction with other treaty parties and by exceeding the definitions of the Antarctic Treaty System based on its desire to become a ‘Polar Great Power’ and thus vast expansion.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(エネルギー科学) / 甲第23998号 / エネ博第434号 / 新制||エネ||82(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院エネルギー科学研究科エネルギー基礎科学専攻 / (主査)教授 森井 孝, 教授 片平 正人, 教授 佐川 尚 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Energy Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

A time series process can be influenced by an interruptive event which starts at a certain time point and so a structural break in either mean or variance may occur before and after the event time. However, the traditional statistical tests of two independent samples, such as the t-test for a mean difference and the F-test for a variance difference, cannot be directly used for detecting the structural breaks because it is almost certainly impossible that two random samples exist in a time series. As alternative methods, the likelihood ratio (LR) test for a mean change and the cumulative sum (CUSUM) of squares test for a variance change have been widely employed in literature. Another point of interest is temporal aggregation in a time series. Most published time series data are temporally aggregated from the original observations of a small time unit to the cumulative records of a large time unit. However, it is known that temporal aggregation has substantial effects on process properties because it transforms a high frequency nonaggregate process into a low frequency aggregate process. In this research, we investigate the effects of temporal aggregation on the LR test and the CUSUM test, through the ARIMA model transformation. First, we derive the proper transformation of ARIMA model orders and parameters when a time series is temporally aggregated. For the LR test for a mean change, its test statistic is associated with model parameters and errors. The parameters and errors in the statistic should be changed when an AR(p) process transforms upon the mth order temporal aggregation to an ARMA(P,Q) process. Using the property, we propose a modified LR test when a time series is aggregated. Through Monte Carlo simulations and empirical examples, we show that the aggregation leads the null distribution of the modified LR test statistic being shifted to the left. Hence, the test power increases as the order of aggregation increases. For the CUSUM test for a variance change, we show that two aggregation terms will appear in the test statistic and have negative effects on test results when an ARIMA(p,d,q) process transforms upon the mth order temporal aggregation to an ARIMA(P,d,Q) process. Then, we propose a modified CUSUM test to control the terms which are interpreted as the aggregation effects. Through Monte Carlo simulations and empirical examples, the modified CUSUM test shows better performance and higher test powers to detect a variance change in an aggregated time series than the original CUSUM test. / Statistics

Yes / After heart disease, cancer is the most common cause of death in many developed countries. In this paper, we discuss the relationship between economic growth and cancer incidence. The purposes of the paper are to describe and measure the influence of an increasing real per capita income on the overall incidence of cancer. Using cross-sectional data for 162 countries, regression results with crude and age-standardised rates allow us to measure the elasticity of cancer incidence with respect to per capita income, and to decompose the elasticity coefficient into two components: age-effect and lifestyle-effect.