This thesis discusses the potential of literary fiction as a means of understauding the construction of national identity and the telling of history. Employing theories of postcolonialism and postmodernism~ it studies the work of the Basque writer Bernardo Atxaga and discusses the function of his work in terms of themes, content and representation of the Basque Country. The thesis discusses the construction of Basque national identity, the history of ETA, political conflict in contemporary Spain and the future for the Basque Country, all in the context of the literary fiction of Bernardo Atxaga. In addition, Atxaga's work is compared with other contemporary authors such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Salman Rushdie. The thesis contains original material of an interview with Bernardo Atxaga and a comprehensive bibliography of the disciplines of Spanish and Basque Cultural Studies.

In the sphere of Malay and Indonesian literature, it is only recently that students of oral narratives have paid attention to their character as oral performances, and this thesis is the first study of a West Sumatran metrical narrative to take that aspect of it into account. Versions of the story of Anggun Nan Tungga exist in manuscript and printed form, and are performed as dramas and sung narratives in two parts of West Sumatra: the coastal region of Tiku and Pariaman and the inland area around Payakumbuh. Sijobang is the sung narrative form heard in the Payakumbuh area. It is performed on festive occasions by paid story-tellers called tukang sijobang, who learn the story mainly from oral sources. The story is usually sung in part, not in full. However, a recital of the complete story by one tukang sijobang was recorded, and a full summary, about 40,000 words in length, is given in chapter II. The plot differs somewhat from one story-teller to another, the greatest differences being in the least-performed parts. Chapter III contains transcriptions, about 1200 lines in length, of two sung performances of sijobang, with translations and notes. This is preceded by a discussion of the various tunes and their uses; metre; phonetic differences between the Payakumbuh dialect and standard Minangkabau; literary features such as formulae, themes, parallelism and repetition; and the forms and uses of pantun in sijobang. Chapter IV examines the ways in which a tukang sijobang's performance of a scene varies from one occasion to another. An outline comparison of three pairs of scenes shows that a scene remains largely stable in structure (i.e. number and order of speeches and sections) and in content from one performance to another. A more detailed analysis of two pairs of transscriptions (about 360 lines) shows that speeches, like scenes, are basically stable in structure and content, but that details of expression are fluid. The evidence also suggests that, compared with a novice, an experienced tukang sijobang relies less on the repetition of stock phrases and more on substitution within formulaic patterns. Being in some respects exploratory rather than exhaustive, the thesis points the way to a number of potentially fruitful fields for further research.

Syftet med uppsatsen är att kritiskt diskutera vad fallet NJA 2015 s. 899 får för konsekvenserför den svenska skadeståndsrättsliga traditionen.Grunden för skadeståndsyrkandet i fallet var bland annat att fackförbundet genom blockadenhade kränkt byggföretagets rättigheter enligt Europakonventionen, närmare bestämtföreningsfriheten artikel 11 EKMR och skyddet för äganderätten artikel 1 i förstatilläggsprotokollet. Högsta domstolen tog upp fallet med mellandomstemat: Är SvenskaByggnads, om förbundets stridsåtgärder skulle vara oförenliga med artikel 11 iEuropakonventionen respektive artikel 1 i det första tilläggsprotokollet till konventionen, ioch för sig skyldigt att betala ersättning till Henrik Gustavsson för de skador somByggföretaget kan ha orsakats till följd av stridsåtgärderna? HD besvarande frågan nekandemen öppnade för att kvalificerat otillbörligt handlande, som slagits fast i NJA 2005 s. 608,kan göras gällande i vissa situationer.Vad HD hade att pröva i målet var om de i mellandomstemat förutsattakonventionskränkningarna i sig var tillräckliga för att utlösa ett skadeståndsansvar.Prövningen innefattade följaktligen inte frågan om några rättighetskränkningar faktisktförekommit, och inte heller frågan om Byggnads i detta specifika fall var skadeståndsskyldigt.Tre viktiga frågor som HD tog ställning till utöver mellandomstemat var följande:1. Om den grundlagsskyddade rätten för arbetsmarknadens parter att vidta stridsåtgärderenligt 2 kap. 14 § RF utgjorde ett generellt hinder mot ett skadeståndsansvar för stridsåtgärdersom kränker Europakonventionen.2. Om Byggnads i ansvarshänseende kunde jämställas med stat eller kommun alternativt omByggnads kunde åläggas ett skadeståndsansvar såsom enskild genom direkt horisontell effektav Europakonventionen.3. Om skadestånd kan utgå med en tillämpning av allmänna skadeståndsrättsliga principer.HD besvarade fråga 1 och 2 nekande tillsammans med mellandomstemat men fråga 3besvarades jakande. HD konstaterade att en kränkning av Europakonventionen i sig inte äriiitillräckligt för att utlösa skadeståndsansvar om inte det rättighetskränkande agerandet är attanse som kvalificerat otillbörligt. Avslutningsvis innehåller avgörandet många intressantainslag som talar för att HD bara har påbörjat utvecklingen inom detta mycket svårtillgängligaområde inom svensk skadeståndsrätt.

Det är sedan tidigare tydligt att det funnits problem och delade åsikter kring arbetet med markanvisningar innan lag 2014:899 trädde i kraft. Arbetets syfte var att undersöka om arbetet har förändrats efter att lag 2014:899 trädde i kraft. Målet med arbetet är att utreda de valda kommunernas markanvisningspolicyer och deras erfarenheter av arbetet med dessa. Förbättringsåtgärder föreslås efter att ha belyst svagheter i de markanvisningspolicyer som undersöktes, med utgångspunkt i lag 2014:899 samt punkter specificerade av Caesar et al. (2013).  Ett dokument med förslag till vad en markanvisningspolicy bör innehålla har tagits fram. Dokumentet kan underlätta kommuners arbete med markanvisningspolicyer i fortsättningen.

by Oded Berman. / Bibliography: leaves 29-31. / Research supported by National Science Foundation Grants NSF/RANN APR76-12036 and NSF DAR78-17826.

This thesis addresses the issue of the publication of translations, specifically the under-representation of literary works in one language of limited diffusion (LLD), the Malay language, in English translation. It sets out to examine the role of two parties which are thought to play a vital role in the publication of Malay literary works in English translation for international consumption: publishers in the United Kingdom and the translation organisation in Malaysia. The aim of the research, more specifically, is to investigate how both parties bear upon the translation of Malay literary works into English. Some of the questions which are central to the issue of the publication of Malay literary works in English translation include: To what extent are the two parties involved in the publication of Malay literary works in English translation for international consumption? What are the policies of these organisations where the translation of Malay literary works and other literary works in LLD are concerned? Who decides what to translate? What factors are taken into account in deciding what to publish in English translation? Given that this thesis sets out to examine the role of the two parties mentioned above, two main strategies have been employed: surveys and case studies. Drawing on responses from individuals from publishing companies, translation organisations, and other organisations which support translation, I have been able to show that the problem in the publication of Malay literary works in English translation is not merely a translation problem but also a problem of image and promotion. This study thus details the different forces working against the translation of Malay literary works into English for international consumption.

In this study, hydrolytic enzymes from sunn pest (Eurygaster integriceps) and cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) midguts were identified and characterized in terms of their optimum pH, Km and Vmax values. Hydrolytic activities were also tested for inhibition by several protease and alpha-amylase inhibitors which can be used for the development of insect resistant plants through transgenic technologies. For sunn pest midgut, a low proteolytic activity, belonging mostly to trypsin-like and leucine aminopeptidase-like proteases, and a very high alpha-amylase activity was found in sunn pest midgut, reflecting its high carbohydrate diet. Proteolytic activities could not be inhibited by natural protease inhibitors (SBTI and aprotinin) but inhibited significantly by a general serine protease inhibitor PMSF and metalloprotease inhibitors CdCl2 and CuCl2. alpha-Amylase activity of sunn pest midgut is resistant to inhibition by bean alpha-amylase inhibitor, but inhibited by chickpea, wheat and maize alpha-amylase inhibitors by 26 %, 37 % and 40 %, respectively. For cotton bollworm midgut, a very high proteolytic activity, belonging to serine and metalloprotease type, was detected. alpha-Amylase activity was lower compared to sunn pest midgut, but there were higher and diverse type of proteases, might be reflecting its wide range of host preference. Proteolytic activity was significantly inhibited by both natural protease inhibitors (SBTI and aprotinin). It was also inhibited by several synthetic protease inhibitors (PMSF, E-64, TPCK, CdCl2, CuCl2, Chymostatin). alpha-Amylase activity was inhibited by 60 % by wheat alpha-amylase inhibitor, while maize, chickpea and bean alpha-amylase inhibitors had no effect on cotton bollworm midgut alpha-amylase activity.

Large, membrane-bound vacuoles of plant cells are suitable organelles for the compartmentation of ions. These vacuoles contain Na+/H+ antiporters for movement of Na+ within the organelle in exchange for H+. They provide an efficient mechanism to prevent the occurance of detrimental outcomes of Na+ accumulation in the cytosol. Identification of AtNHX1 gene that confers resistance to salinity by expressing a Na+/H+ antiport pump facilitates the understanding of the salt stress tolerance mechanisms of plants. The aim of the present study was to isolate and clone the Arabidopsis thaliana AtNHX1 coding sequence for transformation of Nicotiana tabacum plants via Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated gene transfer. For this purpose, total RNA was isolated from Arabidopsis thaliana plants and cDNA synthesis was performed. AtNHX1 (1614bp) was amplified by using cDNA of Arabidopsis via specific primers. The amplified PCR product was verified by sequencing. AtNHX1 coding sequence was cloned into the plant transformation vector pCVB1 and 10 independent putative transgenic tobacco plants were obtained via Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated gene transfer sysytem. Transfer of selected 8 putative transgenic plants to soil provided the regeneration of T1 seeds. Germination of the seeds under different salt treatments (0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 mM NaCl) was observed for evaluating the salt tolerance of transformed plants. The 82% and 60% of the transgenic T1 seeds were germinated on 150 mM NaCl and 200 mM NaCl containing media, respectively. In contrast the germination percentage of wild type tobacco seeds under 150 mM NaCl and 200 mM NaCl concentrations were 39% and 21%, respectively. The germination rate of the transgenic T1 seeds were significantly higher (p=0,001) when compared to the control seeds especially under high salt stress conditions (150 and 200 mM NaCl). Taken all together, our results demonstrated that the germination efficiencies and growth of the plants transformed with AtNHX1 were higher than the wild type tobacco plants under high salt concentrations.

In this study, 14 days old lentil seedlings (Lens culinaris Medik cv. Sultan), which were subjected to 7 days of drought (20% PEG 6000), and salt (150 mM NaCl ) stress , were examined in a comparative manner for the effects of drought and salt stress treatments. In shoot and root tissues physiological parameters such as wet-dry weight, relative water content, root-shoot lengths, membrane electrolyte leakage, and lipid peroxidation in terms of malondialdehyde (MDA) were determined. H2O2 content, proline accumulation and chlorophyll fluorescence analysis were also performed. Changes in the activity of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD: EC 1.15.1.1), catalase (CAT: EC 1.11.1.6) ascorbate peroxidase (APX: EC 1.11.1.11) and glutathione reductase (GR: EC 1.6.4.2) were observed upon stress treatments. In salt treated lentil seedlings, significant decreases in wet-dry weight, RWC, shoot-root length and chlorophyll fluorescence measurements indicated a sensitivity, when compared to drought treated plants. Higher MDA concentration and higher electrolyte leakage amounts are supported these results. APX, GR and proline seem to play important roles in antioxidant defense against salt stress for both tissues by removing reactive oxygen species and protecting macromolecules and membranes. GR and proline are also maintains the main protective mechanism against drought stress effects. SOD is active in drought stressed roots and salt stressed shoots, where the H2O2 contents are also observed to be increased.

Recovery of caustic solution from mercerizing wastewaters of a denim producing textile mill was performed by using membrane technologies. A comprehensive characterization study was conducted to develop the treatment scheme. Highly alkaline and warm condition of wastewater has induced using membranes made of Polyethersulfone (PES). Conducted pretreatment applications such as microfiltration, flocculation and centrifuge have been found unsuccessful to improve further treatment capacities. Hence recovery studies which are UF, NF and pilot-system membrane applications have been implemented without any pretreatment. Effects of TMP and CFV on UF and NF processes were investigated and optimum operating conditions have been defined. UF has accomplished almost complete caustic solution recovery beside high COD and color retentions 84 % and 94 % under 4.03 bar TMP and 0.79 m/s CFV at 20&plusmn / 2 0C. Because of higher capacity of NF membranes also in acid and alkali recovery area, NF process has been studied in addition to UF. NF has also provided nearly complete NaOH recoveries with 92 % COD and 98 % color retentions under 4.03 bar TMP and 0.79 m/s CFV at 20&plusmn / 2 0C. Furthermore temperature effect was also studies by repeating the same processes at 40&plusmn / 2 0C considering the real operating conditions. Temperature has affected the system performance positively with regards to flux increases with insignificant loses in recovery and retention capacities. Lastly a pilot plant study has been conducted and it was found successful despite some operational difficulties due to high inorganic content and temperature of wastewater.