Thesis (M. Ed.)--York University, 2000. Graduate Programme in Education. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-116). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ67767.

The focus of this dissertation is the Sakha language (Sakha tyla) and ways of speaking in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) in Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District. Following Hanks’ (1996) approach to communicative practice that unites ideology, activity and formal structure, I explore the maintenance of Sakha ways of speaking among Sakha-Russian bilinguals. The past Tsarist and Soviet regimes are analysed according to how their language policies and plans have shaped the current Sakha communicative practices in urban and rural locales. Through the analysis of discourse surrounding language ideologies and the examination of how language ideologies are reflected in, or challenged by daily communicative practices, I show how both ideologies and practices have been reinforced or transformed due to the shifting socio-political situation of the past two post-Soviet decades. Bilingual speakers also move toward, or away from, different languages, following language trajectories. Factors such as social groups, educational history and migration patterns all shape language socialization over a speaker’s lifetime, illustrating how the development of a linguistic repertoire is a dynamic process. Examining patterns of mobility among Sakha-Russian speakers, I trace how Sakha communicative practices are relocalized within urban and rural spaces; speakers’ movement between these spaces affects both the practices and shifting indexical fields attached to linguistic features. Through investigating Sakha-Russian code-switching and code-mixing, I concentrate on how speakers ‘move’ within and between languages and discuss what communicative choices may index for different interlocutors. When examining both speakers’ connections between village and city as well as the movement between Sakha and Russian ways of speaking, boundaries are blurred. Examining how ways of speaking Sakha might be conceived of as existing along a spectrum, the divisions between languages are challenged. The first chapter of this thesis provides an introduction to the Sakha language, its speakers, and the Sakha Republic, as well as an overview of the central research questions and the theory in which this work is grounded. Chapter Two presents further information on the fieldsites, while also introducing the research approach and the types of data gathered and examining the researcher’s position and ethical considerations. Chapter Three is focuses on the history of Sakha language policy and planning, and how it has shaped current communicative norms and language ideologies in urban and rural environments. Chapter Four is concerned with the changes in language policy and planning in the Republic of Sakha in the post-Soviet era (from the early 1990s until the time of research in 2010-2011). The effect of shifts in both of population and politics on both language policies and practices are described. Language ideologies that gained purchase in the post-Soviet era are described, along with the implications of these ideologies for language practices. Chapter Five presents an approach to understanding mobility and movement and its relationship to Sakha communicative practices, examining how relationships based on zemliachestvo (the sense of being compatriots, people of one land) support village people in the city while also playing a crucial role in maintaining Sakha language practices. New spaces and fields for Sakha communicative practices are also mentioned, in particular mobile telephony and the internet. In Chapter Six, issues of Sakha language acquisition and socialization are discussed, as speakers move toward or away from the Sakha language throughout their lifetimes. Factors, in particular interpersonal relationships, are described in terms of how they shape language socialization; both ideological and infrastructural factors connected to language acquisition are investigated in order to ascertain the difficulties new learners of the Sakha language might face. Chapter Seven is an in-depth look at Sakha-Russian language contact and the code-mixing and code-switching practices that occur among bilinguals, focusing on what mixing language ‘features’ can index for village-identifying and city-identifying speakers. Finally, Chapter Eight concludes the dissertation by revisiting its main themes, as well as identifying gaps that arose during this research in order to identify areas for further exploration.

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The formation of two sediment types in Orkney is elucidated. Both are demonstrated to be the result of anthropogenic sedimentary processes, deep top soils the result of arable activity, farm mounds the result of habitation activity. Deep top soils commenced formation c 1200 AD either as a spontaneous innovation due to increasing population pressure or as a new agricultural technique introduced with monastic settlement. Cessation of deep top soil formation is attributed to the 1800s agricultural improvements when new forms of land fertilizer were introduced. The land use associated with deep top soil formation was the tunmal, the most intensively cultivated part of the early township. The materials used to sustain this intensive cultivation resulted in deep top soil formation. These materials were dominantly turf from the hill land and grazing land together with variable quantities of animal manure and a little seaweed. Deep top soils are located in West Mainland on naturally less fertile soils, where seaweed was in short supply and where population density was relatively high. Farm mound formation commenced over a thousand year period, between the Iron Age and late Norse period. The major impetus to farm mound formation was the Norse settlement commencing c 800 AD. Two farm mounds examined in detail indicate a mound core was deposited using primarily a turf and manure mixture. At one site this alleviated a flooding hazard. The core was then covered with turves and peat, creating a living surface upon which pathways and fertilized garden plots are evident. In the latter stages of farm mound formation their use was as a midden where toft wastes, dominantly ash, were deposited. Farm mounds are restrictedin their distribution to Sanday and North Ronaldsay where early population levels were greatest and where ample seaweed was available for land fertilization instead of toft wastes.

Using an anthropological perspective and referring primarily to work by Sidney Mintz, Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu this dissertation focuses on the cultural importance of sugar in rural Berber communities within the Rif region of North Africa. In particular, Mintz is referred to with regard to slavery, Bourdieu in relation to habitus and Foucault in relation to normalization of mass beliefs as well as to events occurring in Morocco which relate directly to power structures within society. As well as providing information about the cultural importance of sugar, an historical account of the development of the sugar industry in Morocco is provided. This includes subsequent economic effects both in Morocco and Europe, with details in relation to the development and decline of the sugar industry, the introduction of slavery to Morocco as well as worldwide economic influences. The latter also demonstrates that sugar has been attributed power which is exerted not only within Berber culture from birth to death, but has had an influence throughout social and economic history since the introduction of the Qu’ran to the present day. An argument is developed which suggests that the presence of apparent discrimination and inequalities have arisen partly from a pure desire for sugar. Some long lasting health and environmental effects of processing sugar are outlined and discussed in relation to the health of Rif Berber. This includes a general outline of societal inequalities between genders in health care, including diseases such as diabetes. Tuberculosis along with diabetes, are discussed in order to show that they are social markers which reinforce various power structures within Moroccan communities. The emergence of slavery, land use, and the effects of the rise and subsequent decline of the sugar industry in Morocco are covered. Examples are given of how power shifted from those initially in authority to individuals at local level who complied with certain social norms and beliefs. This closely relates to the importance of sugar in Morocco, its relevance as an introduced crop along with the subsequent social, national and international changes which occurred and to a large extent remain firmly in place today. The long-lasting environmental impacts of the sugar industry represent both direct and indirect power struggles which are unlikely to be remedied without international intervention.

This thesis includes an original science-fiction novella entitled "The Hunted" and accompanying commentary which illustrates how anthropological fiction can use characterization, setting, and conflict to build effective inter-subjective models.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts by Research in Drama and Film in the Theatre and Performance Department Wits School of Arts University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, March 2017 / A theory of performance-making is presented through this study that contributes to the body of performance studies research. The consideration of looking “beyond” the “linoleum colon”, as the research title suggests, positions this study to respond to the research question: To what extent can a constructed performance narrative provide the potential for audience transformation in reading, knowing, and understanding the public health site as an ally to health care practice? The “performance-making process” is forwarded as a possible model for creative research. The collaborative process leading to the performance Beyond the linoleum colon is an experiment in performance-making. I frame this experiment as a “collision course” (Pollock, 2010: 203) that presents a convergence between performance studies, urban spatial praxis, and narrative theory. The performance-making process as a model presents a formula for a theory of performance-making. A performance-making theory can be derived from the ways in which a citing of site took place and will be presented as part of this study. I have connoted the action of ‘digestion’ from the metaphorical element of the ‘colon’, an incorporation of supportive theoretical ideas that develop into a model for a theory of performance-making. The research to follow is informed by writers in performance studies including Schechner (2002), Conquergood (1995, 2002a, 2002b), Pollock (2010), and Warren (2010), urban spatial praxis from the perspective of Lefebvre (1991), and narrative theory with reference to Braid (1996), Bruner (1986), and McArthy (2007). The implications of performance-making on the field of performance studies will be addressed, underscoring the importance of a performance-lens to the creative endeavour of the current study. Urban spatial praxis will be stressed, as a consideration of space within the performance was twofold: the citing of site in a theatrical space emerged, as well as a foregrounding of hospital site as a space for the culmination of experiential accounts that developed the Expressionist theatre work. A framing theory on space and the circumstances for its production will be emphasised, leading to an imperative to what I reinforce as narrative construction and narrative performance. The way in which the research has developed in response to these key theoretical perspectives informs the process, progress, and concluding findings of the performance experiment: Beyond the linoleum colon. / XL2018

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Anthropology, Aug. 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 189-203). Also available on the Internet.

Using an anthropological perspective and referring primarily to work by Sidney Mintz, Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu this dissertation focuses on the cultural importance of sugar in rural Berber communities within the Rif region of North Africa. In particular, Mintz is referred to with regard to slavery, Bourdieu in relation to habitus and Foucault in relation to normalization of mass beliefs as well as to events occurring in Morocco which relate directly to power structures within society. As well as providing information about the cultural importance of sugar, an historical account of the development of the sugar industry in Morocco is provided. This includes subsequent economic effects both in Morocco and Europe, with details in relation to the development and decline of the sugar industry, the introduction of slavery to Morocco as well as worldwide economic influences. The latter also demonstrates that sugar has been attributed power which is exerted not only within Berber culture from birth to death, but has had an influence throughout social and economic history since the introduction of the Qu’ran to the present day. An argument is developed which suggests that the presence of apparent discrimination and inequalities have arisen partly from a pure desire for sugar. Some long lasting health and environmental effects of processing sugar are outlined and discussed in relation to the health of Rif Berber. This includes a general outline of societal inequalities between genders in health care, including diseases such as diabetes. Tuberculosis along with diabetes, are discussed in order to show that they are social markers which reinforce various power structures within Moroccan communities. The emergence of slavery, land use, and the effects of the rise and subsequent decline of the sugar industry in Morocco are covered. Examples are given of how power shifted from those initially in authority to individuals at local level who complied with certain social norms and beliefs. This closely relates to the importance of sugar in Morocco, its relevance as an introduced crop along with the subsequent social, national and international changes which occurred and to a large extent remain firmly in place today. The long-lasting environmental impacts of the sugar industry represent both direct and indirect power struggles which are unlikely to be remedied without international intervention.

The Google Books corpus contains millions of books in a variety of languages. Due to this incredible volume and its free availability, it is a treasure trove that has inspired a plethora of linguistic research. It is tempting to treat frequency trends from Google Books data sets as indicators for the true popularity of various words and phrases. Doing so allows us to draw novel conclusions about the evolution of public perception of a given topic. However, sampling published works by availability and ease of digitization leads to several important effects, which have typically been overlooked in previous studies. One of these is the ability of a single prolific author to noticeably insert new phrases into a language. A greater effect arises from scientific texts, which have become increasingly prolific in the last several decades and are heavily sampled in the corpus. The result is a surge of phrases typical to academic articles but less common in general, such as references to time in the form of citations. We highlight these dynamics by examining and comparing major contributions to the statistical divergence of English data sets between decades in the period 1800--2000. We find that only the English Fiction data set from the second version of the corpus is not heavily affected by professional texts, in clear contrast to the first version of the fiction data set and both unfiltered English data sets. We critique a method used by authors of an earlier work to determine the birth and death rates of words in a given linguistic data set. While intriguing, the method in question appears to produce an artificial surge in the death rate at the end of the observed period of time. In order to avoid boundary effects in our own analysis of asymmetries in language dynamics, we observe the volume of word flux across various relative frequency thresholds (in both directions) for the second English Fiction data set. We then use the contributions of the words crossing these thresholds to the Jensen-Shannon divergence between consecutive decades to resolve major factors driving the flux. Having established careful information-theoretic techniques to resolve important features in the evolution of the data set, we validate and refine our methods by analyzing the effects of major exogenous factors, specifically wars. This approach leads to a uniquely comprehensive set of methods for harnessing the Google Books corpus and exploring socio-cultural and linguistic evolution.