The purpose of this research was to better understand the relationship between L1 and L2 fluency, precisely, whether there is a relationship between L1 and L2 temporal fluency measures and whether this relationship differs across different languages and different proficiency levels. In order to answer these questions, L1 and L2 speech samples of the same speakers were collected and analyzed. Twenty-five native speakers and 45 non-native speakers of Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, and Russian were asked to respond to questions and perform picture descriptions in their L1 and L2. The recorded speech samples were then analyzed by means of a Praat script in order to identify mean length of run (MLR), speech rate, and number of pauses. Several different statistical analyses were then performed to compare these L1 and L2 temporal features across different languages and different proficiency levels. The results of this study indicate that there is a strong relationship between L1 and L2 fluency and that this relationship may play a role in L2 production. Furthermore, it was found that native languages differ in their patterns of L1 temporal fluency production and that these differences may affect the production of L2 temporal fluency. It was also found that L1-L2 fluency relationship did not differ at different proficiency levels suggesting that individual factors may play a role in L2 fluency production. Thus, it was found that an Intermediate speaker of Spanish, for instance, did not speak faster than an Intermediate speaker of Russian, suggesting that naturally slower speakers in their L1 will still speak slower in their L2. These results indicate that fluency is as much of a trait as it is a state. However, it was also found that not all of the L1-L2 language combinations demonstrated the same results, indicating that the L1-L2 fluency relationship is affected by the L2. These findings have different implications for both L2 teaching and learning, as well as L2 assessment of fluency and overall language proficiency.

The work described in this thesis was undertaken to study the reasons why Azotobacter vinelandii ATCC 12837 after incubation in Burk's nitrogen-free liquid will not form as many colonies when plated on Difco Tryptic Soy Agar as when planted on Burk's nitrogen-free agar. The difference in growth of A. vinelandii on the two agars was established by performing viable cell-plate counts. The difference in growth was most apparent at 24-hours incubation of the Burk's liquid-media cultures. Phase contrast microscopic observations of Tryptic Soy media cultures of A. vinelandii disclosed the regular formation of fungoid cells at early stages of growth of the bacteria, 18 to 24 hours.

Denna undersökning är en analys av hur lärare på konkret didaktiskt sätt kan arbeta med invandrarfientlighet, men framförallt islamofobi i skolan. Resultatet av undersökningen kommer att visa att invandrarfientlighet fortfarande är ett stort problem i Sverige och att både media med internet i spetsen har en stor roll i förmedlandet av denna bild. I skolan är kunskapen om hur man arbetar med denna problematik väldigt bristfällig, speciellt när fokus ligger på islamofobi. Ett antal stiftelser och organisationer arbetar med att få fram mer utbildningsmaterial för lärare som ska förenkla arbetet med denna problematik. / This study is an analysis of how teachers in a concrete didactic way, can work with xenophobia, but especially Islamophobia in schools. The results of the study will show that xenophobia is still a big problem in Sweden and that both media with internet in the lead, has a major role in mediating this image. In schools, the knowledge of how to work with this problem is very poor, especially when the focus is on Islamophobia. A number of foundations and organizations are working to develop more educational materials for teachers that will simplify the way they can work with this problem.

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<p> Biodegradation of benzene, a common groundwater contaminant, occurs readily in the presence of oxygen; however, at contaminated sites, aerobic bacteria often deplete the available oxygen, resulting in anaerobic conditions. Field and laboratory studies have shown that the anaerobic biodegradation of other aromatic hydrocarbons such as toluene occurs readily, while anaerobic benzene biodegradation has only been documented in a handful of studies. Despite these difficulties, benzene biodegradation has been shown to occur under iron-reducing, sulphate-reducing and methanogenic conditions, but not under nitrate-reducing conditions.</p> <p> The goal of this thesis research was to enrich and characterize the benzene-degrading microbial populations in microcosms and transfer cultures derived from soil from four different sites. Cultures were amended with potential exogenous electron acceptors (nitrate, sulphate, ferric iron) and the rates of biodegradation under different terminal electron accepting processes were determined. Sustained, anaerobic benzene biodegradation was obtained in transfer cultures containing less than 1% of the original soil inoculum. The rate of benzene degradation was variable, ranging from 1 μM/d to more than 75 μM/d. Growth of bacteria was linked to benzene degradation under sulphate-reducing and nitrate-reducing conditions. Growth was very slow, with doubling times of 9-30 days estimated by modelling benzene depletion curves to the Monod kinetic equation. The rate of benzene degradation was influenced most by biomass concentration and much less by the terminal electron accepting process.</p> <p> The ratio of moles of electron acceptor depleted to moles of benzene degraded was calculated and compared to the theoretically predicted ratios to confirm putative terminal electron acceptors. Anaerobic benzene degradation linked to iron reduction, sulphate reduction and methanogenesis was observed in enrichment cultures, corroborating results from previous studies. In addition, in some enrichment cultures, benzene degradation was linked to nitrate reduction. This is the first report demonstrating benzene degradation linked to nitrate reduction.</p> / Thesis / Master of Engineering (MEngr)

Cette thèse porte sur l'empowerment et les rapports de pouvoir au sein des coopératives féminines de vivriers en Côte-d'Ivoire. Elle s'appuie sur l'étude de deux coopératives de production situées dans la région de la Marahoué, et sur une coopérative de commercialisation basée à Abidjan, la capitale commerciale. Son objectif est double : examiner la contribution desdites coopératives à l'amélioration des conditions économiques des agricultrices des zones rurales tout au long de la chaîne de production-distribution d'une part, et évaluer leur rôle dans l'empowerment individuel et collectif de ces femmes de l'autre. Pour recueillir les témoignages de 75 participant-e-s, l'étude applique la technique de triangulation méthodologique combinant des entretiens (de groupe et individuels), des récits de vie, l'observation participante et l'analyse documentaire. Le recours à une approche théorique de l'empowerment alimentée par le féminisme décolonial et l'intersectionnalité située, puis questionnée par les courants africains du « maternisme » et du « négo-féminisme », permet d'appréhender le cheminement singulier des agricultrices vers l'acquisition et l'exercice du pouvoir. Les résultats révèlent que l'empowerment des femmes est à la jonction d'une politique agricole défavorable aux cultures vivrières, et d'une obligation organisationnelle qui les exclut des instances de décision de la coopérative. Ainsi, l'on observe une fracture entre d'une part les fondatrices et les directrices des coopératives qui exercent le pouvoir, et de l'autre les agricultrices de la base qui, à des degrés divers, développent des stratégies de résistance subalternes grâce auxquelles elles parviennent à négocier des espaces de pouvoir.

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