As an ecological disturbance agent, wildfire is highly responsive to spatial and temporal variables. At the landscape scale, the spatiotemporal characteristics of fire are influenced by climate, which is non-stable and subject to oscillations, and by weather, which affects the intensity of burning and the severity of fire effects over short time periods. Like wildfire, vegetation communities and fuels are similarly influenced and modified by climate and weather, which configure not only the type of burning possible at any given time, but also the fire effects produced by burning. Furthermore, ignition sources, both natural and anthropogenic, vary over space and time, whether they are from natural ignitions in response to weather and climate factors, and anthropogenic ignitions, which are much less constrained. Within a given physiographic setting, the spatiotemporal conditions of wildfire can be understood as fire regimes, which can be expressed in terms of typical fire frequency, season of burning, ignition source, duration, fire size, patch size, fire rotation, and return interval. As a dynamic assemblage, vegetation communities, combustible fuels, ignition sources, and fire regimes are arrayed over topographic features at landscape scales. Humans are able to affect various and multiple components of this dynamic assemblage. Humans have the most direct control over ignitions, both in terms of adding ignitions to the weather and climate-modulated background of natural ignitions, or by suppressing anthropogenic ignitions and suppressing fires that do start. Humans can also manipulate vegetation communities and fuel complexes, either promoting or diminishing the chance for fires to burn and spread. Humans have far less control over weather and climate, although the enhanced greenhouse effect is beginning to be expressed in terms of climate change and unusually extreme weather, including weather variables that drive fire growth and spread, including low humidity, high temperatures, and increased winds. The objectives of this dissertation were to: (1) investigate the influences of several waves of human occupation on temporal fire regime characteristics in the Chiricahua Mountains across major topographic settings and forest types, and to detect cessation of widespread, low-intensity wildfire in specific locations; (2) account for the mechanisms by which the U.S. state has managed fires by managing anthropogenic ignitions, which has contributed to long-term deviation in formerly frequent fire regimes; (3) examine the effects from the return of large and severe wildfire following decades of fire prevention and suppression by categorizing the ecological trajectories of montane forests following mixed-severity reburning; and (4) understand how the post-disturbance recovery of burned areas is influenced by the response of shrub species to variations in fire severity, with the post-fire regeneration strategies of shrub species driving differences in patch structure and total cover. Major findings and contributions of this research include identifying distinct anthropogenic influences on temporal fire regime characteristics in several forest types in an Arizona Sky Island, including shortened fire frequencies during times of conflict between Apaches and colonizing forces. We found that periods of conflict with Spanish and later American militaries exerted an influence on fire frequencies, with higher-elevation forests burning more frequently than pre-Apache periods or during episodes of peacetime. We also find that single-tree fires, which are likeliest to express anthropogenic ignitions, do not significantly correspond to multi-year patterns in climate (Appendix A). We found that the U.S. state used Smokey Bear and other wildfire prevention media as a pyropolitical instrument aimed at simultaneously managing people, landscapes, and flammable forests, in the process binding proper fire behavior to notions of citizenship, territory, and ecology. The wildfire prevention campaign, with Smokey Bear as its avatar, was successful because it remained flexible in the face of social, economic, and environmental change within the United States, but the ultimate result of this success is an environmental feedback loop by which fire prevention and suppression produce the need for ever-greater state response (Appendix B). We found that mixed-severity reburning has differential effects on various structural and demographic components of vegetation communities, with trees, shrubs, and regeneration responding differently according to plant functional traits. Although the effects of recent disturbance tend to overwrite prior disturbance, mixed severity fire produces different response in plant communities than single events. Repeated high and moderate severity fire suppress tree regeneration and shift the community to shrub dominance, with recovery in pine-oak vegetation types dominated by resprouting species and by resprouting species in mixed conifer. Unburned areas contain different vegetation communities, with pine-oak forests increasing the proportions of fire-intolerant species typical of mixed conifer, as well as oaks and other potentially shrubby species growing as trees (Appendix C). Finally, we found that the proportion of the landscape dominated by shrub cover and the structure of shrub patches is influenced strongly by fire severity, with high severity burns producing the largest shrub patches as well greater area:stem ratios. Unburned areas have the lowest amount of shrub cover, and shrub patches tend to be single-stemmed, indicating that sufficiently long fire-free periods can produce monopodial trees that would otherwise grow in shrub form. The effects of antecedent disturbance can be seen in shrub patch structure, suggesting that the organizing effects of fire can persist for decades (Appendix D). Together, this body of work underscores the means by which human activities interact with the natural world to produce historic fire regimes, and the ecological communities that arise following long periods of fire regime disruption.

There exists a scholarly debate on the cultural impact of globalization and how and to what extent it is affecting indigenous people in particular. Three theoretical standpoints can be discerned from the debate; the homogenization-perspective which holds that globalization is making world cultures more similar, the hybridization-perspective which emphasizes that it is fragmenting cultural boundaries and the differentiation-perspective which implies that globalization is augmenting differences and making humanity as a whole more diverse. As regards the cultural impact of globalization on indigenous peoples, many question marks can be raised. The objective of this research is to contribute to the debate by bringing to light the perspective of the indigenous movement in Ecuador, CONAIE. An analysis is made on how they perceive globalization affecting the maintenance of indigenous identities and culture among today’s youth. That information is then used as a foundation to analyze CONAIE’s level of success regarding their main objective; to preserve Ecuador’s indigenous nationalities and peoples. The study, which has a qualitative ethnographic approach and is based on semi-structured interviews, was carried out during an eight weeks long field study in Quito and in San Pedro de Escaleras, Cuenca, Ecuador. The research has an abductive approach and the theoretical debate on globalization’s cultural impact on indigenous peoples sets the analytical frame of the study. The three theoretical standpoints; globalization as homogenization, globalization as differentiation and globalization as hybridization play central roles in the analysis of the empirical material. The findings show that there are many elements that obstruct the maintenance of indigenous culture and identity among youth in contemporary Ecuador. There is a connection between youth being exposed to cultural globalization and that they lose cultural characteristics for the indigenous identity. Hybridization of identities due to globalization is presented as a possible factor to play a role in this. Indigenous youth tend to drop characteristics for the indigenous identity as they adopt features from the mestizo culture, in case they see no benefit in maintaining the former. This indicates that what ultimately might be at stake is cultural homogenization. Light is also shed on that CONAIE lacks strategies and possibilities to reinforce the indigenous identity among the youth that is in a process of identity change. The findings thus point at that despite efforts for cultural revival by the indigenous movement in Ecuador, the maintenance of rigid frontiers between the ethnically diverse nationalities in the country is threatened. Seen to a larger picture, this implies that globalization’s impact on indigenous culture among youth is very difficult to counteract. It appears as if the move towards more cultural similarity in Ecuador cannot be hindered.

This study explored the value of team sport in the lives of seven urban living/playing Indigenous women attending three open talking circles to discuss the influence of personal sport stories, definitions and experiences of wellness, and, prioritizing sport into adulthood. With a strengths-based approach and guided by the Indigenous methodologies that reflect the often-transformative journey of the Indigenous re-searcher, seven themes emerged from the stories, capturing the resilient and relational stories of these women: (1) Cgwesgwsénk (Sunny side of the mountain), acknowledges the overarching benefits of team sport participation and the strength-based perspective that the women shared. (2) Ec k yúcwementwecw-ep (Take care of each other), reflects the connectedness present in all of the women’s stories, thus woven throughout the following five themes as well. (3) Ye⁊éne ren ú⁊q̓wi (This is my sister), recognizes the sisterhood created through team sport in the city. (4) Cnéwelc (Follow the trail), captures the role model relationships the women shared as well as their feelings about being a role model. (5) Letwílc (Healthy once again), shares the views of wellness and how continually pursuing sport directly influences our wellness. (6) Ct̓éxelc (Swim up-stream) acknowledges the many adversities for sport participation. Yet, the narrative revealed how women continue to overcome barriers in pursuit of sport. Finally, (7) Ct̓̓íxwtsnem (Raise one’s voice loudly), poses the question ‘who needs to hear about this work and these stories of strength and sisterhood in sport in the city?’ This work contributes to the relatively sparse body of literature acknowledging Indigenous women and sport, and creates space for the voices of Indigenous women, both in the game and in the academy. / Graduate

Tomando en cuenta la naturaleza pluricultural y pluriétnica de la México, la presente tesis doctoral comienza por observar y analizar las maneras en que los medios de comunicación masiva tradicionalmente han contribuido a la distorsión y devaluación de las identidades de los indígenas mexicanos, así como a la fabricación de sus representaciones más caricaturescas en el México moderno. Arguyo que los medios de comunicación masiva han coadyuvado en la formación de tres construcciones socioculturales falsamente enraizadas en los pueblos indígenas de México. Ellos son el indio, el indio-campesino y el naco. Particularmente la cinematografía y la literatura han tenido un rol crítico en la tarea de insertar tales identidades artificiosas, genéricas e indiferenciadas en la cultura dominante mestiza mexicana, para ser absorbidas y reproducidas como constructos de identidad históricos profundamente asentados en el imaginario sociocultural colectivo de sus ciudadanos. Además de formas masivas más tradicionales como la cinematografía y la literatura, esta tesis doctoral examina la cultura popular y urbana, la música de rock en español, bogas y estilos de arrabal, dialectos urbanos y rurales y otros textos culturales como videos musicales, comics y sketches de comedia. Lo anterior permite una perspectiva alterna y más completa del proceso de creación, distorsión y tergiversación de dichas identidades indígenas ficticias arraigadas en la cultura dominante. En el primer capítulo establezco las formas en que el indio reemplazó la imagen del amerindio, y eventualmente la imagen del indígena mexicano contemporáneo. El segundo capítulo se centra en la imagen del campesino, así como en sus proximidades con el indio y la confusión identitaria que deriva de ellas. El resultado de tal amalgama es la construcción sociocultural del indio-campesino. El tercer capítulo analiza el constructo identitario del naco y sus vínculos con el indio, los cuales dirigen a la creación del naco-indio. Esta tesis doctoral argumenta que, debido a sus múltiples asociaciones con el indio, el indio-campesino ha sido incapaz de enunciar un discurso propio y de lograr autorrepresentarse. Sin embargo, el naco, a través de la música de rock en español y de los performances derivados de ella, pudo expresar su propio discurso y logró la autorrepresentación como una contracultura altamente efectiva y articulada durante las décadas de los ochenta y noventa.

The aim of this thesis is to centre three people’s stories, their experiences and un-­ derstandings of the Swedish planning framework for mining establishments. The sto-­ ries centred are from Sami people whom in different ways analyses, questions, chal-­ lenges and changes the diverse expressions of colonialism, racism and capitalism within this framework. Through centring indigenous and decolonial planning this the-­ sis tries to expose colonial planning practices and how indigenous knowledges, worldviews and perspectives are made marginalised. But at the same time it reformu-­ lates, reconstruct and reimagines planning where non-­hierarchical and relational thinking is centred. This thesis is made through guidance of (mainly) indigenous and decolonial theories, methodologies and methods.

Empowerment is a fundamental human right. The indigenous women in Guatemala, however, sufferfrom both gender and racial discrimination, which through history have un-empowered them. Usinga qualitative methodology, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 13 indigenous Guatemalanwomen to examine the conditions these women face in the process of empowering themselves. Inorder to aid the collection and analysis of the data, we developed a theoretical model of empowermentconsisting of the following empowering components: economic capacity, human capital, socialcapital, gender equality, political influence, self-esteem, and awareness. The empirical results showthat all components of the model, indeed, influence the empowerment of our respondents in the study.The challenges that these women face are related to gender inequalities, discrimination, corruption,economic scarcity, and dependency on others. To facilitate their empowerment, the women currentlyuse formal networks to start businesses and achieve greater awareness about their life situation andtheir rights as women. We conclude that reduction in gender discrimination, access to healthcare,possibilities to education, and economic independency are necessary in combination with supportfrom the government and NGOs in order to empower the indigenous women in Guatemala.

Magister Legum - LLM / The main objectives of this study were to identify the role that customary law and traditional leadership can play, without compromising their current positions or future recognition through legislation, in creating a better life for their constituents. The study analysed diverse issues such as legislative reform, the future role and functions of traditional leaders, training needs of traditional leaders, and the impact of a possible lack of commitment by national and provincial government on the training of traditional leaders to fulfill their functions within the ambit of the Constitution. / South Africa

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Invasive alien plants (IAPs) are often reported to use more water than indigenous plants. Inaddition, IAPs have an ability to adapt to harsh environmental conditions and they tend to spread at rapid rates, thereby threatening the country’s water resources, agricultural land, and biodiversity. Much of South Africa is expected to get drier in future due to climate change and the new climatic conditions are also predicted to accelerate the rate at which alien plants will spread. Approximately 10 million hectares are currently estimated to have been invaded by alien plants in South Africa, with an estimated average annual rate of spread of more than 5%. The first objective of this study was to compare the water use by deep rooted tree species which include invasive alien Prosopis (sp) trees and the co-occurring indigenous A. karroo. These trees are growing in a flood plain of a groundwater dependent catchment in the Northern Cape Province. Both species are dependent on groundwater and thus compete with local communities for this resource. The second objective was to determine the sources of water that the trees were using in order to understand the impacts of each species on groundwater resources. Transpiration was measured using the heat ratio method of the heat pulse velocity sap flow technique while the volumetric soil water content was monitored at several depths down the soil profile using automated capacitance soil water content probes. Weather data was collected using an automatic weather station. Stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen from plant, soil and groundwater samples were analysed to determine the sources of water used by the trees. Average tree density was approximately 613 stems per hectare for Prosopis compared to about 100 stems per hectare for A. karroo. Comparative measurements of water use shows that the annual stand level transpiration from Prosopis invasions was approximately 353 mm/year while that from A. karroo was only about 137 mm/year. Differences in stand transpiration were a result of the higher plant density for Prosopis than A. karroo. There were no significant differences in the transpiration rates of the two species for trees with a similar transpiring leaf area. Application of a two compartment linear mixing model for the oxygen isotope ratio during the peak transpiration period in summer showedthat Prosopis derived 23% of its water from the unsaturated zone and 77% from the saturated zone. A. karroo on the other hand derived 53% of its water from the unsaturated zone and47% from the saturated zone. Diurnal fluctuations in groundwater levels were strongly related to the transpiration dynamics of both species. This supports the observation that these deep rooted trees have substantial impacts on groundwater at the study site. Root sap flow patterns of Prosopis showed evidence of hydraulic redistribution wherein the groundwater abstracted by the tap roots was deposited in the shallow soil layers by lateral roots. However, the root sap flow patterns of A. karroo growing adjacent to the Prosopis did not show this phenomenon.

Data about Indigenous populations in the United States are inconsistent and irrelevant. Federal and state governments and researchers direct most collection, analysis, and use of data about U.S. Indigenous populations. Indigenous Peoples' justified mistrust further complicates the collection and use of these data. Nonetheless, tribal leaders and communities depend on these data to inform decision making. Reliance on data that do not reflect tribal needs, priorities, and self-conceptions threatens tribal self-determination. Tribal data sovereignty through governance of data on Indigenous populations is long overdue. This article provides two case studies of the Ysleta del Sur Pueblo and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and their demographic and socioeconomic data initiatives to create locally and culturally relevant data for decision making.

In this study, the transfer of culture in the translation of the isiNdebele New Testament has been investigated. This has been done on the basis of the hypothesis of this study that the transfer of cultural entities from the source text into the South African indigenous languages has not been satisfactorily dealt with. The methodology followed is a literary study, analysing the existing literature by comparing the source text i.e. the Good News Bible and the target text i.e. the isiNdebele New Testament. This was done through the Descriptive Translation Studies theory. Personal interviews were also conducted with different informants. The information to support this hypothesis is expounded in five chapters. Chapter one explains the background to the research and the research problem. Chapter two deals with the historical overview of Bible translation with specific reference to the translation of the Bible into the South African indigenous languages. This chapter puts the Good News Bible as the source text and the isiNdebele New Testament as the target text in their respective historical and literary context in order to compare them. The historical overview of Bible translation is discussed in two categories. The first category deals with the general overview of Bible translation from the first Great Age when the Bible was translated for the first time into the Greek language. The second category includes the Second up to the Fourth Great Age including the missionary period in South Africa in the early 19th century. Chapter three discusses the cultural context, translators and the intended readership of the source text by comparing them with those of the target text. This is done in terms of the Descriptive Translation Studies theory whereby the source text and the target text need to be put in their respective historical, social and cultural contexts in order to examine what transpired in the translation. Furthermore the translation theories and strategies employed in the translation of the isiNdebele New Testament have been discussed with illustrative examples from the text. Chapter four concentrates on the cultural entities and how they are transferred into the isiNdebele New Testament. Based on the Descriptive Translation Studies theory the following tertium comparitionis has been used: A comparison between the Good News Bible and the isiNdebele New Testament in terms of: - Aspects of culture used as the tertium comparitionis (basis for comparison) <ul> <li>1. Ecology</li> <li>2. Material culture</li></ul> <ul> <li>2.1 clothing</li> <li>2.2 utensils and artefacts</li></ul> <ul> <li>3. Social culture</li></ul> <ul> <li>3.1 gestures</li> <li>3.2 idiomatic expressions</li> <li>3.3 naming</li> <li>3.4 lifestyle</li> <li>3.5 way of showing respect</li></ul> <ul> <li>4. Social organizations-political, administrative and religious</li></ul> <ul> <li>4.1 political terms</li> <li>4.2. economic terms</li> <li>4.3 religious terms</li> <li>4.4 historical names</li></ul> Chapter five is a general conclusion which broadly deals with the hypothesis of this research; namely that the transfer of cultural entities has not been thoroughly dealt with in the translation of the Bible into the South African indigenous languages, with specific reference to the isiNdebele New Testament. Suggestions for the way forward have been expounded. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / African Languages / unrestricted