This research looks at the dynamics of identity formation in a higher education organisation during a strategic branding project, the arrival of a newcomer and my role as the dean of a school of art and design. Most branding literature focuses on the key stages of how a brand proposition is formed and assumes the straightforward roll out of the identity for the organisation. In this research I focus on what goes on around me as ideas are formed and presented back to the organisation, rather than on the idealised process of what should go on. The method takes a “withness” approach to the narrative rather than a synoptic case study approach, focusing on my experience and practice. This highlights the social context of organisational life – the context of human power relationships in which people enable and constrain each other on the basis of human attributes such as identities, anxieties, values, emotions, fear, expectations, motives and interests. The research shows that intention is only a part of the narratives about strategy and identity in organisations. I argue that notions of certainty that are inherent in intentional brand strategies are often based on arbitrary inferences and that by nature brand propositions are abstractions and therefore only representative of a partial reality. To present them in a rigid sense and develop vigilant strategies for identity preservation seems artificially limiting and devoid of context. Branding has played an important role in the world of objects and transactions. It has indicated a sense of ownership, a promise of quality and performance, and more recently an indication of self-image and identity. Yet when branding is applied to organisations it is problematic. Taking principles from a context of objects and applying them to social life has led to branding often being about the preservation of a specific concept of identity and not about the ongoing dynamic process of identity formation in organisations. It is frequently seen as manipulative and controlling, yet is also seen as an important indicator of personality, differentiation, togetherness and is linked to notions of loyalty and trust. Paralleling Mead’s notion of the “I-me” dialectic, an organization can also be seen to be emerging in the context in terms of its presentation in everyday life. The notion of certainty in this sense of organizational identity denies the dynamics of the situation and one could argue that vagueness is present in all aspects of social life and essential for creative action as it allows space for newness. Any articulation of identity is a simplification of an identity that is constantly evolving. But at what level are these simplifications and abstractions useful and not debilitating? This is not to argue that intention and strategy are not essential parts of joint action. The process of negotiating is an essential part of working together towards joint action. It is a process in which we reveal our intent and discover important aspects about each other and ourselves as we emerge in the social; it is about intention and attention. However we cannot really know how people will respond to our gestures and actions, and it is in the actions that we reveal the sincerity of our intent. Managers and strategies do not solely determine organisational identity, and neither are employees free to choose their identities, attitudes, expectations and actions. We are both enabled and constrained by our own pasts and social relationships. We inform the organisational identity as well as being informed by it in an on going process of relating. This way of thinking has implications for the way that we think about brand strategy in organisations – it is not a deterministic process of control, and neither is it a process of anarchic behavior, of open resistance to management intention. Branding is a social act and is performed by human agents who are inherently complex, individual and collective at the same time. The role of the practitioner is to make sense of what is going on between us and pay attention to what emerges – after all, it is not what a brand is but what a brand does.

The geology of five sedimentary units outcropping west of Lake Barinjo in the Kenya Rift Valley is presented. The units range in age from mid-Miocene (about 13 million years) to late-Miocene (about 5 million years). Regional geological mapping has resulted in the determination of the stratigraphic relationships of the sediments, which have been calibrated by radiometric techniques Faunal studies confirm the mid-to late-Miocene ages of the sediments suggested by radiometric age determinations on intercalated lavae. A succession of vertebrate faunas over this time span is presented.

Il s'agit d'une recherche quantitative de nature exploratoire. Elle s'intéresse à la problématique de la formation fondamentale au collégial au travers des objectifs poursuivis par le nouveau programme de sciences humaines. Le but de cette recherche est d'élaborer des indicateurs fonctionnels de formation fondamentale et d'en mesurer la pertinence au travers du programme de sciences humaines. Pour atteindre le but visé, 16 indicateurs de formation fondamentale ont été élaborés. Les indicateurs font appel à quatre types de connaissances; empirique, intellectuelle, rationnelle et décisionnelle. Ces quatre types de connaissances se distinguent entres eux par le niveau de difficulté des opérations mentales qu'ils souhaitent développer. Ces indicateurs ont été validés auprès de 21 conseillers pédagogiques impliqués dans la recherche et le développement. 14 des 16 indicateurs présentés ont été jugés comme étant plutôt satisfaisant par l'ensemble des juges. La présente recherche débouche sur des hypothèses de recherche qui identifient quatre niveaux de formation fondamentale. L'instrument d'évaluation qui permettra une mesure de la formation fondamentale reste à bâtir et à valider dans une recherche ultérieure.

No description available.

published_or_final_version / Chemistry / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Chemistry / Master / Master of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / Chemistry / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / Chemistry / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Interactions of microorganisms, both prokaryotic and eukaryotic, with the metal antimony were studied. Of particular interest was the process of biomethylation. Volatilisation of trimethylantimony from inorganic antimony substrate by mixed inoculum (of environmental source) enrichment cultures was demonstrated to occur. Trimethylantimony was the sole volatile antimony species detected in incubations designed to promote the growth of clostridia, no stibine or other volatile methylated species were detected. Two Clostridium sp. were isolated from environmental enrichment incubations and three characterised Clostridium sp. were demonstrated to possess a biomethylating capability. Up to 21 μg. 1-1 involatile methylantimony species were detected in the culture medium of monoseptic incubations of the characterised Clostridium sp. The relative quantities of involatile mono-, di- and trimethylantimony species produced during the course of the cultivation period is consistent with trimethylantimony oxide being a final product of antimony biomethylation, with monoand dimethylantimony species appearing transiently in the cultures as intermediates of an antimony biomethylation pathway. The fungi Cryptococcus humicolus, Candida boidinii, Candida tropicalis, Geotrichum candidum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were all demonstrated to possess a similar antimony biomethylating capability. Volatile and involatile methylantimony species were detected, with involatile species being the predominant form. Both stibine and trimethylantimony were detected in culture headspace gases of fungal incubations. Levels of trimethylantimony were higher in incubations supplied with antimony III substrate, whilst stibine was the predominant volatile antimony species in incubations supplied with V valency substrate. S. cerevisiae demonstrated the highest stibine generating capability with up to 0.3% substrate being transformed. Regardless of substrate, overall antimony biomethylation efficiency (to both volatile and involatile species) was low, indicating that this biotransformation does not form the primary mode of resistance to the metal. Less than 0.1% of antimony III substrate was biomethylated by C. humicolus, the most productive species in terms of formation of methylantimony compounds. The intracellular accumulation of methylated antimony species further belies the theory that antimony biomethylation constitutes a resistance mechanism. Study of C. humicolus revealed the biomethylation process to be enzymatic and inducible by arsenic but not by antimony. This may indicate that the enzymes of the arsenic biomethylation pathway are the likely biocatalysts for the biomethylation of antimony. The low efficiency of antimony biomethylation indicates that this is most likely a fortuitous process. A number of Gram-positive cocci isolated from soil and sediment were demonstrated to bioreduce antimonate to an unknown inorganic antimony III compound concurrently with lactate oxidation and biomass formation (as measured by protein). Up to 48% of the supplied antimonate was bioreduced. The demonstration of dissimilatory antimonate respiration adds this metal to the increasing list of known "unusual" electron acceptors such as uranium, arsenic, selenium, iron and manganese. These studies reveal some of the microbial interactions of microorganisms with the metal antimony, demonstrating the potential that microorganisms have to contribute to the biogeochemical cycling of antimony through biotransformation processes