There are many factors that have been proposed to contribute to plant invasiveness in nonnative ecosystems. Traits of invading species are one of them. It has been proposed that successful species at a certain invasion stage share particular traits, which could be used to predict the behaviour of potentially invasive plants at the respective stage. Three main stages of invasion are distinguished: introduction, naturalization, and invasion. I conducted a stageand trait-based analysis of available data for the invasion of New Zealand by the flora of southern Africa. Using 3076 southern African native vascular plant species introduced into New Zealand, generalised linear mixed model analysis was conducted to assess association of several species traits with the three invasion stages. The results showed that plant traits were significantly associated with introduction but fewer traits were associated with naturalization or invasion, suggesting that introduction can be predicted better using plant traits. It has been also hypothesized that species may become invasive in non-native ecosystems because they are removed from the regulatory effects of coevolved natural enemies (Enemy Release hypothesis). A detailed field study of the succulent plant Cotyledon orbiculata var. orbiculata L. (Crassulaceae) was conducted in the non-native New Zealand and native Namibian habitats to compare the extent of damage by herbivores and pathogens. C. orbiculata is a southern African species that is currently thriving in New Zealand in areas seemingly beyond the climatic conditions in its native range (occurring in higher rainfall areas in New Zealand than are represented in its native range). As hypothesised, C. orbiculata was less damaged by herbivores in New Zealand but, contrary to expectation, more infected by pathogens. Consequently, the plant was overall not any less damaged by natural enemies in the non-native habitat than in its native habitat, although the fitness impacts of the enemy damage in the native and invaded ranges were not assessed. The results suggest that climatic conditions may counteract enemy release, especially in situations where pathogens are more prevalent in areas of higher rainfall and humidity. To forecast plant invasions, it is concluded that species traits offer some potential, particularly at the early stage of invasion. Predicting which introduced plants will become weeds is more difficult. Enemy release may explain some invasions, but climatic factors may offset the predictability of release from natural enemies.

There exists a broad inclination among those who theorize about mental representation to assume that the meanings of linguistic units, like words, are going to be identical to, and work exactly like, mental representations, such as concepts. This has the effect of many theorists applying facts that seem to have been discovered about the meanings of linguistic units to mental representations. This is especially so for causal theories of content, which will be the primary exemplars here. It is the contention of this essay that this approach is mistaken. The influence of thinking about language and mental representation in this way has resulted in the adoption of certain positions by a broad swathe of theorists to the effect that the content of a concept is identical to the property in the world that the concept represents, and that because of this a concept only applies to an object in the world or it does not. The consequences of such commitments are what appear to be insoluble problems that arise when trying to account for, or explain, misrepresentation in cognitive systems. This essay presents the position that in order to actually account for misrepresentation, conceptual content must be understood as being very much like measurements, in that the application of a content to an object in the world is akin to measuring said object, and that conceptual content ought be understood as being graded in the same way that measurements are. On this view, then, concepts are the kinds of things that can be applied more, or less, accurately to particular objects in the world, and so are not identical to whatever it is that they represent.

There exists a broad inclination among those who theorize about mental representation to assume that the meanings of linguistic units, like words, are going to be identical to, and work exactly like, mental representations, such as concepts. This has the effect of many theorists applying facts that seem to have been discovered about the meanings of linguistic units to mental representations. This is especially so for causal theories of content, which will be the primary exemplars here. It is the contention of this essay that this approach is mistaken. The influence of thinking about language and mental representation in this way has resulted in the adoption of certain positions by a broad swathe of theorists to the effect that the content of a concept is identical to the property in the world that the concept represents, and that because of this a concept only applies to an object in the world or it does not. The consequences of such commitments are what appear to be insoluble problems that arise when trying to account for, or explain, misrepresentation in cognitive systems. This essay presents the position that in order to actually account for misrepresentation, conceptual content must be understood as being very much like measurements, in that the application of a content to an object in the world is akin to measuring said object, and that conceptual content ought be understood as being graded in the same way that measurements are. On this view, then, concepts are the kinds of things that can be applied more, or less, accurately to particular objects in the world, and so are not identical to whatever it is that they represent.

Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Univ., Diss.--Fribourg, 2002.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:33:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Luciana Veloso Rocha Portolese Baruki.pdf: 1595537 bytes, checksum: 2f8077e89d1b55d97bb4636fdb505a98 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-02-01 / Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa / Mental health problems associated with the work environment have achieved, in the beginning of this century, unprecedented levels. The intensity by which these problems appear, along with the exponentially pattern through which they have been growing, are factors that have transformed mental disorders caused by the exposure to psychosocial risks/hazards at work in such an expressive problem, which can no longer be ignored. In the first part, by addressing the psychosocial called emerging occupational risks, we sought to understand the extent to which they reveal themselves as a category of legal interest. It was thus necessary to find the theoretical basis for a psychosocial approach of the occupational risks so that we could dissect the pathologies increasing afterwards. In a second part, it was developed a legal discussion itself, which was intended to reveal, in specific terms, how insufficient protection stands as an obstacle to the implementation of a framework of preventive psychosocial risks/hazards situations at work. More generally, there was an intention throughout the whole text itself that was not to lose sight of how much suffering and mental illness fall under the Political and Economic Law as a problem that affect primarily the citizenship issues and the construction of a supposed free and fair and society. In this sense,the optics of the psychodynamics of work served as a support for tackling the subject from the viewpoint of work organization instead of the individual approach in coping with stress. / Os problemas de saúde mental relacionados ao meio ambiente do trabalho atingiram, neste início de século, patamares sem precedentes. Seja pela intensidade com que aparecem, seja pela forma exponencial pela qual crescem, os transtornos mentais decorrentes da exposição aos riscos psicossociais no trabalho representam um problema que, de tão expressivo, não pode ser mais ignorado. Em uma primeira parte, através da abordagem psicossocial dos chamados riscos ocupacionais emergentes, buscou-se entender em que medida eles se revelam como categoria de interesse jurídico. Para tanto, foi necessário buscar as bases teóricas da abordagem psicossocial, bem como dissecar as patologias em aumento. Em uma segunda parte, travou-se uma discussão jurídica propriamente dita, a qual pretendeu, em termos específicos, revelar como a proteção insuficiente se coloca como um obstáculo para a implementação de um regime jurídico preventivo dos riscos psicossociais no trabalho. Em termos mais genéricos, objetivou-se nunca perder de vista o quanto o sofrimento e o adoecimento psíquico se inscrevem, no âmbito do Direito Político e Econômico, como um problema essencialmente afeto à problemática da cidadania e à construção de uma pretensa sociedade livre e justa. Para tanto, a ótica da psicodinâmica do trabalho serviu de apoio para o enfrentamento do tema sob o ponto de vista da organização do trabalho, em detrimento do enfrentamento individual do stress.

Maters thesis People with undetermined citizenship the case of Estonia , describes the situation of the group of people who has no citizenship. The status of those people is described by chronological analysis of Estonian law and analysis of their socioeconomic position. They came to Estonia after the Second World War from different republics of USSR. When Estonian independence was renewed they had to adapt at new living conditions. Some of them are not successful. They did not get the automatic right to get Estonian citizenship. In Estonian law the main principal is the principal of state continuity. It means that immigrants have to naturalize. They have to pass the exam of the state language and fulfill the requirements concerning the permanent residence permit. Estonian law gives people with undetermined citizenship almost the same rights as to Estonian citizens the exceptions are active and passive right to vote to Parliament and the right to be elected to local councils. From 2006 there is even the advantage for them because they can travel to Russia without visa. They are not discriminated economically the problem is mostly in the indirect impact of division of Soviet time society. People with undetermined citizenship usually cannot speak well Estonian. It makes it difficult to find a good...