Thesis (LL.M.) --University of Limpopo, 2010 / Refer to document

<p>Dispersal is an important factor in animal ecology. Anurans (frogs and toads) are often philopatric (home loving) but some specimens in a population usually have the capacity to disperse relatively long distances. In this study I investigated the colonization of newly constructed ponds in the southwest of Sweden by three anuran species: The common toad (Bufo bufo), the moor frog (Rana arvalis) and the common frog (Rana temporaria). The ponds were constructed between two and five years ago and were now as frequently occupied as older source ponds in the area. For the common toad and the common frog there was no correlation between distance to source populations and degree of colonization. The moor frog was more common in ponds that were situated in the vicinity of older source ponds with ample populations. The main impression was that these species rapidly colonize newly constructed ponds, at least within moderate distances from source populations. There were some differences between the species though and it seems like the moor frog have more limited dispersal abilities than the other two species.</p>

Dispersal is an important factor in animal ecology. Anurans (frogs and toads) are often philopatric (home loving) but some specimens in a population usually have the capacity to disperse relatively long distances. In this study I investigated the colonization of newly constructed ponds in the southwest of Sweden by three anuran species: The common toad (Bufo bufo), the moor frog (Rana arvalis) and the common frog (Rana temporaria). The ponds were constructed between two and five years ago and were now as frequently occupied as older source ponds in the area. For the common toad and the common frog there was no correlation between distance to source populations and degree of colonization. The moor frog was more common in ponds that were situated in the vicinity of older source ponds with ample populations. The main impression was that these species rapidly colonize newly constructed ponds, at least within moderate distances from source populations. There were some differences between the species though and it seems like the moor frog have more limited dispersal abilities than the other two species.

Root rot diseases of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) are a problem wherever they are grown, and are a major constraint to dry edible and snap bean production. Root rot is a primary yield limitation of snap bean production in the US, especially within the top three snap bean producing states of Wisconsin, Oregon and New York. Bean root rot pathogens will be present by the end of the first season even when starting with clean ground. The decline in yield can be relatively slow, so growers might not notice or appreciate the hidden yield cost associated with root rot disease. Traditional methods for disease control such as fungicides, crop rotations, cover crops, seedbed preparations have been proven ineffective (either physically ineffective or economically unviable) against root rot. Therefore, genetic resistance is needed. In order to address the need for genetic resistance to root rot in snap beans, the highly root rot resistant line RR6950, a small seeded black indeterminate type IIIA accession of unknown origin, was crossed with OSU5446, a highly root rot susceptible determinate type I blue lake four-sieve breeding line to produce the RR138 recombinant inbred mapping population. In this study we evaluated the RR138 RI population in the F₆ generation for resistance to Fusarium solani root rot in Oregon and Aphanomyces euteiches root rot in Wisconsin. We also evaluated this population for morphological traits and root structural traits including pod height, pod width, pod length, pod wall thickness, strings, seed color, flower color, tap and basal root diameter, and root angle measurements. The RR138 population was also genotyped on the 10K BeanCAP Illumina Beadchip. The Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) data was used to assemble a high-density linkage map and Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) for phenotypic data were evaluated. The linkage map produced from this study contained 1,689 SNPs across 1,196cM. The map was populated with 1 SNP for every 1.4cM, spanning across 11 linkage groups. Three QTL associated with A. euteiches root rot resistance were consistently expressed in 2011 and 2012 trials. A. euteiches QTL were found on Pv02, Pv04, and Pv06 and accounted for 7-17% of total genetic variation. Two QTL associated with F. solani were found in 2011 trial on Pv03 and Pv07, account for 9 and 22% of total genetic variation, respectively. We also found several QTL for morphological traits and root structural traits including QTL for pod fiber and pod height on Pv04, pod length on Pv01, strings on Pv01, taproot diameter on Pv05, and shallow basal root angle on Pv05, accounting for 21, 26, 12, 20, 11, and 19% of total genetic variation, respectively. QTL discovered from Oregon data for F. solani resistance did not cluster with QTL for A. euteiches root rot resistance. "SNP0928_7", was highly associated with F. solani resistance on Pv07 and "SNP0508_2", was highly associated with A. euteiches on Pv02. QTL and markers associated with QTL from this study will be of value to snap bean breeders developing root rot resistant lines with processing traits, and provide more information about targeting the mechanism of resistance. / Graduation date: 2013

Existerande skolstrider, överlappande skolteorier samt vetskapen att erfarna psykologer arbetade integrativt var anledningarna till att Örebro Universitet, 2002, startade ett Psykologprogram med integrativ psykoterapiinriktning. Den grupp som examinerats från programmet har ännu inte studerats utifrån hur de beskriver sitt arbetssätt, deras föreställningar om psykoterapiintegration och hindrande faktorer för integration av terapiskolor samt hur de tolkar evidensbegreppet. Studien är en tvärsnitts enkätstudie med kvantitativa och kvalitativa frågor som syftar till att besvara dessa frågeställningar. Ett tillgänglighetsurval resulterade i 70 stycken deltagare. Deltagarna anger sitt arbetsätt som i huvudsak integrativt. En förvirring kring hur och när integration ska ske samt en snäv tolkning av hur evidensbegreppet definieras finns i gruppen. Vi föreslår att framtida integration bör guidas av evidensbaserad praktik. / Existing school conflicts, overlapping schooltheories and knowledge that experienced psychologists were working integrative were reasons why Örebro University, in 2002 started a Psychologist Program with an integrative psychotherapy approach. The graduated from this program have not yet been studied based on how they describe their practices, their beliefs about psychotherapy integration and impeding factors for the integration of therapy schools and how they interpret the concept of evidence. The study is a cross-sectional questionnaire study with quantitative and qualitative questions designed to answer these questions. An availability sample resulted in 70 participants. Participants indicates their practices as substantially integrative. A confusion about how and when the integration will take place, and a narrow interpretation of how evidence is defined is present in the group. We suggests that future integration should be guided by evidencebased practice.

The first chapter of this thesis gives a detailed picture of commonly used structural estimation techniques for several types of auction models. Next chapters consist of essays in which these techniques are utilized for empirical analysis of auction environments. In the second chapter we discuss the identification and estimation of the distribution of private signals in a common value auction model with an asymmetric information environment. We argue that the private information of the informed bidders are identifiable due to the asymmetric information structure. Then, we propose a two stage estimation method, which follows the identification strategy. We show, with Monte-Carlo experiments, that the estimator performs well. Third chapter studies Outer Continental Shelf drainage auctions, where oil and gas extraction leases are sold. Informational asymmetry across bidders and collusive behavior of informed firms make this environment very unique. We apply the technique proposed in the second chapter to data from the OCS drainage auctions. We estimate the parameters of a structural model and then run counterfactual simulations to see the effects of the informational asymmetry on the government's auction revenue. We find that the probability that information symmetry brings higher revenue to the government increases with the value of the auctioned tract. In the fourth chapter, we make use of the results in the multi-unit auction literature to study the Balancing Energy Services auctions (electricity spot market auctions) in Texas. We estimate the marginal costs of bidders implied by the Bayesian-Nash equilibrium of the multi-unit auction model of the market. We then compare the estimates to the actual marginal cost data. We find that, for the BES auction we study, the three largest bidders, Luminant, NRG and Calpine, have marked-down their bids more than the optimal amount implied by the model for the quantities where they were short of their contractual obligations, while they have put a mark-up larger than the optimal level implied by the model for quantities in excess of their contract obligations. Among the three bidders we studied, Calpine has come closest to bidding its optimal implied by the Bayesian-Nash equilibrium of the multi-unit auction model of the BES market.

Det debatteras inom psykoterapiforskningen om hur förändring går till. Accep-tans beskrivs av två relationella teoretiker, Safran och Muran (2000), som hjärtat i psykoterapi. Acceptans tycks inte ha studerats som common factor inom psykoterapiforskningen. Frågeställningarna är: Hur kan förändringsproce-ssen beskrivas i psykodynamisk psykoterapi med hjälp av begreppet acceptans? Har patienterna nått en ökad acceptans, vilken slags acceptans ar de uppnått och hur hänger det samman med förändring? Framträder acceptans i intervjuer-na på ett sådant sätt så att man kan se det som en common factor av betydelse?  Arbetet har en kvalitativ ansats där intervjuer med sex vuxna som genomgått långtids psykoanalys eller psykodynamisk terapi analyserades med tematisk analys. Resultat: Fem teman i framträdde i analysen: a) Acceptans av flera aspekter av själv, b) Acceptans av egen begränsning, c) Acceptans av ansvar och agens, d) Acceptans av olikhet, e) Terapeutens acceptans av patienten. Resultatet visar på att all förändring inte är och inte kan beskrivas i termer av acceptans men det tyder på att acceptans kan ses som en viktig underliggande mekanism som bidrar till förändring. Det pekar också i riktning mot att studiet av acceptans som utfallsmått kan bidra till att studera strukturell förändring efter psykoterapi men ytterligare forskning skulle behövas för att undersöka detta vidare. / There is a debate in psychotherapy research on how change takes place. Accep-tance is described in relational theory by Safran and Muran (2000) as the heart of change in psychotherapy. It seems acceptance has not been studied as a common factor in research of psychotherapy. The question at issue is: How can the process of change in psychodynamic psychotherapy be described using the concept of acceptance? Have the patient reached an increased level of accep-tance, what kind of acceptance is it and how is it linked to change? Does accep-tance appear in such a way in the interviews that one can see it as a common factor of importance? This study has a qualitative approach, where interviews with six adults have been analyzed using a thematic approach. Five main themes emerged: a) Acceptance of more aspects of self, b) Acceptance of personal limits, c) Acceptance of responsibility and agency, d) Acceptance of difference, e) The therapist's acceptance of the patient. The result shows that not all change is or can be described in terms of acceptance but it indicates that acceptance can be seen as an important underlying mechanism that contributes to change. It also indicates that the study of acceptance as measure of outcome could contribute to studying structural change after psychotherapy but further research would be needed.

Precipitated by important work in recent natural law political theory, this research revisits the relationship between political association and human flourishing. Does the political community itself realize some aspect of human sociability intrinsic to our full flourishing or is it simply an instrumental good? The inquiry begins with a thorough examination of the merits of John Finnis’s influential argument for an instrumental political common good, pointing to a significant lacuna in his inattention to the value of political activity, as opposed to the operation of government and law. In building an alternative positive account the argument relies upon both formal and substantive considerations, generally employing an Aristotelian methodology of understanding the whole via a consideration of its constitutive parts. First, drawing from Aquinas’s Aristotelian commentaries to unpack the basic structure of part/whole relationships within the “body politic,” I argue that political community is partially defined by the nature of its basic constitutive parts. The next chapter considers the substantive good of familial association, particularly in light of longstanding concerns with the family’s particularity and inequality. I argue that the intrinsically liberal and educative character of parental love rightly orients children to virtuous activity and invests familial association with an intrinsic rationality. The final two chapters bring direct focus onto the political common good: First, I argue that a normatively compelling account of the political common good must be both inclusivist, i.e., including within its purpose the irreducibly diverse goods of every individual and basic association within the community, and distinctive, i.e., including within the calculus of practical reason the good of the political association as such. Lastly, I argue that the political common good is intrinsically—though only partially—constitutive of the human social good. Aquinas makes a crucial shift away from Aristotle’s political primacy in his more pluralistic account of human sociability and emphasis on the extensiveness of the political good over the superiority of political activity per se. Nevertheless, there are essential human virtues—justice, love, generosity—that are uniquely, if not exclusively, fostered in political community and potentially realized in civic friendship. / text

Magistro darbe atskleidžiamos bendrosios dalinės nuosavybės teisės daugiabučiuose namuose problemų kilimo priežastys ir prielaidos, nagrinėjamos dažniausiai pasitaikančios problemos šios nuosavybės valdymo, naudojimo ir disponavimo ja procese, siūlomi problemų sprendimo būdai. Bendrosios dalinės nuosavybės teisės daugiabučiuose namuose įgyvendinimo problemų yra visuose šios teisės įgyvendinimo etapuose. Šios problemos yra sąlygotos tiek objektyvių, tiek subjektyvių veiksnių: tai didelis daugiabučių namų skaičius bei ženkli juose gyvenančių gyventojų dalis, nuosavybės teisę į butus ir kitas patalpas turinčių asmenų nevienodas teisinis statusas, didesnės dalies daugiabučių namų senas amžius bei prasta būklė; taip pat finansinis didelės dalies gyventojų nepajėgumas, skirtinga namo gyventojų socialinė padėtis ir poreikiai, teisės aktų netobulumas. / This master’s degree thesis reveals causes and assumptions of common partial property right in the blocks of flats problems, analyzes the most common problems, which occur in the process of property management, use, and disposal, and also provides solutions. Problems occur in all steps of common partial property right in the blocks of flats implementation. These problems are caused by objective and subjective factors: the large number of apartment houses and significant part of residents, unequal legal status of people, who have the property right of apartments and other premises, poor condition of majority of the apartments; also financial incapability of many residents, different social situation and needs of a building residents, and imperfection of legal acts.

There is growing global concern over the influence of road development on the conservation of biodiversity and on the functioning of ecosystems. Published reviews in the field of road ecology have identified that most research has examined the effects of roads linearly and have advocated for research at landscape scales. Among the many effects roads have, one of the most significant is the loss of animal life resulting from collisions with vehicles. Despite this, little is known of what toll this has on animal populations and how these impacts vary with scale. This stems from the perception that impacts are localised and that animals killed are typically considered common, and therefore not of great conservation concern. This thesis challenges this notion by showing that the impacts of fatalities can affect populations at landscape extents and that commonness is not a barrier to localised extinction risk. To achieve this I focus on the common wombat; an example of a common species for which road impacts have never been previously examined. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the importance of scale in quantifying road impacts and the debate surrounding common species persistence in road environments. Chapter 2 assesses habitat use of wombats in a road environment at a local scale. Results suggest that wombats select for roadside habitat and as a result populations could be under threat. Chapter 3 is a predictive model of wombat road fatalities which demonstrates the importance of incorporating habitat use in predictive fatality modelling. Through use of a spatially explicit population viability analysis, Chapter 4 demonstrates that roads, in conjunction with other threats can affect the persistence of a common species at a local scale. Chapter 5 is a landscape extent assessment of wombat habitat use, finding that increased effort should be employed in evaluating how reserves confer resilience to species from the impacts of roads and that habitat quality can dictate road-based fatality rates. Chapter 6 summarises the research presented in the thesis and suggests direction for future work, particularly the importance of evaluating the interplay between susceptibility and abundance on species vulnerability in road environments.