This thesis investigates the effects of rangeland management systems on savanna ecosystems under different environmental conditions in Botswana, Southern Africa. The soil sampling and vegetation assessment were conducted in twenty–three transects located in communal and ranching grazing lands across three sites. Pastoralists were also interviewed on vegetation change on their respective grazing lands. Soil texture, pH, bulk density and soil organic carbon differed between sites, but not between communal and ranching lands. Soil organic carbon was positively affected by soil clay content. The herbaceous vegetation composition showed heterogeneity between sites, but Matlolakgang and Xanagas rangelands were in poor condition, particularly the communal grazing land that had high cover of increasers II species. Higher herbaceous biomass was observed in ranches than communal lands and biomass also increased with increasing soil organic carbon. Bush encroachment was observed in communal and ranching grazing lands at Matlolakgang and Xanagas, but not Goodhope. Woody plant cover, density and diversity increased with decline in soil clay content, but not linearly. Pastoralists indicated that herbaceous vegetation compositions had changed in some areas, with increase of unpalatable grass species and bush encroachment especially in communal land. Pastoralists considered bush encroachment a problem as it suppress herbaceous vegetation productivity, but they also considered woody vegetation as a valuable grazing resource. The long-term indicators of ecosystem degradation (soil and woody cover) showed that communal and ranching grazing did not affect the savanna ecosystem differently. This is contrary to assumptions of Tribal Grazing Land Policy of Botswana, which promote ranching as a more sustainable management system. The results revealed that rainfall and soil clay strongly influence rangeland condition. These results have implications for the management policies of communal grazing lands throughout sub-Saharan Africa and in similar arid habitats across the world.

The aim of this thesis is to explore how professionals working in a French community association perceived the notion of spirituality and a shared life practice, and furthermore what contributions and limits these concepts have in the social work. To attain this, a case study has been done using participant observations and four thematically opened interviews within a L'arche community where persons with varying disabilities are living together with professional assistants. To put the association in a theoretical framework, I propose it to be regarded as a case of milieu therapy with spiritual elements, which are the two areas that will be stressed out in the section about previous research. The theories used in the study are ecological system theory, existentialism and Roger's theory about interpersonal relationships. The result of the thesis illustrate how the notion of a shared life practice has good contributions in the social work, such as equal and personal relationships between the members of the community and furthermore a notion of time that makes the work unstressful and natural as a result of the communal living. However, a limit discovered regarding this practice is the exposed and tiering situation for the assistants that hinder a longterm work in the community for most assistants. Another finding is that the spiritual dimension in the community makes way for a holistic view of everyone and contributes with rituals that create strong moments of fellowship within the community, at the same time it risks to make people who regard themselves as non-spiritual not to feel totally included.

This thesis focuses systematically on the phenomenon of collective housing which emerged in the late 1920s in the USSR, western Europe and also in Czechoslovakia. It concentrates mainly on Czechoslovak architectonic scene with a specific variant of ideas about collective housing, adopted largely due to an influential Czech theoretist Karel Teige. In the first chapter, the architectonic millieu of 1920s and 1930s is introduced; in this period, theprogram of "scientific" functionalism which is crucial for the rise of the concept of collective house, was formulated,. The following chapters summarize collective housing efforts in the USSR and Sweden as an influential sources for Czechoslovak architects. The next sections are dedicated to two collective houses built in Czechslovakia after WWII: one in Zlín and another in Litvínov. The whole text is concluded by a brief summary of how the idea of collective houses developed further in 1960s and by an interpretation of the phenomenon through the work of Pierre Bourdieu and David Harvey.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / A major and unresolved challenge facing South Africa’s post-apartheid government, is how best to overcome the historical injustices of land dispossession and the resultant poverty now found in the communal areas of the former 'homelands'. In line with the South African government’s hybrid of neo-liberal and social welfare approaches to development, one important strategy for addressing these challenges has so far been the promotion of inclusive business models such as joint ventures (JVs), especially in the context of land restitution claims, but also in communal areas. This study explores the impacts of the JV model on livelihoods and land rights and use, and engages with key debates regarding the dynamics of class formation in the former 'homelands' of South Africa. The study undertakes a comparative analysis of two Joint Venture (JV) dairy farms, involving the same agribusiness partner, Amadlelo Agri. The farms are located on irrigation schemes in the former Ciskei of South Africa’s Eastern Cape Province. The JVs involve residents from the rural settlements of Keiskammahoek and Shiloh, as both landowners and workers. The comparative case study presented here illustrates quite divergent outcomes when the same JV model is implemented in different rural settlements, most powerfully because of differences in the class structure of each settlement. Class analysis helps to explain the more intense intragroup conflicts that have emerged around the JV in Shiloh. Intragroup dynamics and conflicts, which have historical roots extending beyond the implementation of the JV intervention, are also critical to understanding divergent outcomes. A class-analytic approach assists in understanding the tensions that the JV model of capitalist farming generates in relation to household reproduction, in a class-differentiated manner. The sole focus in much of the literature on agricultural investments has been on relationships between agribusiness, and what are too often portrayed as homogenous 'communities’. However, this thesis illustrates that this approach is misleading when applied to analysis of the real politics on the ground. Struggles over jobs, dividends and land take place within highly differentiated communities. Investigating the inter- and intra-household distribution of JV benefits and risks is central to understanding the impacts of the JV on livelihoods and incomes, and also the emerging contentions and conflicts. To this end, I explore how class interacts with other aspects of social difference, particularly gender, kinship, ethnicity, race, generation and religious affiliation. A class-analytic approach is significant because it illuminates the emerging agrarian class structure that a JV-type intervention both reflects and in turn conditions, in dialectical fashion. It thus allows exploration of the implications of the JV model for wider processes of agrarian change in South Africa. Although there is evidence of livelihood benefits being derived by some households, as well as limited opportunities for accumulation, the JV model does not appear to stimulate the emergence of a class of productive black farmers. Significantly, the study could not identify any households as 'middle farmers', reliant on 'accumulation from below', which many authors consider to be a more progressive, dynamic and desirable pathway of agrarian reform. The JV model is at risk of equating ‘black emerging farmers’ with a group of customary landowners, who are in reality workers and 'passive recipients' of JV dividends and land rents.

Rollkongruensteorin innebär att kvinnor har svårare än män att nå ledarroller och kvinnliga ledares beteende bedöms mindre fördelaktigt än manliga ledares på grund av att ledarroller anses passa stereotypiskt manliga egenskaper bättre än stereotypiskt kvinnliga egenskaper. Studien undersökte om män och kvinnor uppskattade en chef och dennes meddelande med hård ton bättre eller sämre beroende på chefens kön och yrke som militär- eller förskolechef. Fyrtionio män och fyrtiofem kvinnor besvarade en av fyra versioner av enkäter innehållande frågor och påståenden med svarsalternativ. Variansanalyser visade att kvinnor tyckte att militärchefer hade bättre yrkeslämplighet och bättre ledaregenskaper än förskolechefer. Både kvinnor och män ansåg att ledaregenskaperna hos en manlig chef var bättre än hos en kvinnlig chef. Chefen ansågs ha mer relationsinriktade egenskaper om denne var militär eller man. Vidare ansåg kvinnor att kvinnliga chefer var yrkeslämpliga i större utsträckning än vad män ansåg. Resultatet både stöder och motsätter sig rollkongruensteorin.

A prática de terras de uso comum desde tempos imemoriais, nas suas mais diversas formas, foi ou ainda é praticada em diversas partes do mundo, como na França (Vaine Pâtre, Biens Communaux), Itália (Della Comurione, Le Terre Del Compascuo), Angola, Colômbia, Portugal (Baldios), Espanha (Baldios e Montes Veciñais en Mam Común), Alemanha, Inglaterra, Ucrânia, Polônia, Brasil, entre outros países. No Brasil, as terras de uso comum e seus recursos naturais são apropriados por uma fração do campesinato. O uso dessas terras envolve elementos de identidade, indissociáveis do território ocupado, e regras de apropriação, que se expressam em diversas formas e denominações, como \'Terras de Preto\', \'Terras de Santo\', \'Terras dos Índios\', \'Terras de Herança\', \'Terras Soltas\', \'Fundo de Pasto\' e \'Faxinais\'. Entendendo que até o presente momento, existe uma lacuna na Geografia Agrária Brasileira quanto à elaboração de uma pesquisa que aprofunde a análise sobre o campesinato, pautei como objetivo central desse trabalho a interpretação da trajetória histórica dessa fração do campesinato e seu território. Para isso, compreendo abstratamente que o campesinato, por meio de lutas, constitui-se como uma classe social, para si, e que, como sujeitos políticos, para se sustentarem no modo capitalista de produção, travam uma luta de classe. Para compreender o uso das terras de uso comum e de seus recursos naturais por essa fração do campesinato brasileiro e, mais especificamente, paranaense, fez-se necessário resgatar como se davam essas práticas na Espanha e Portugal, assim como suas diversas formas e respectivas variantes de posse e propriedade da terra no Brasil. Considerando-se que a gênese dos faxinais do Paraná se deu por meio de uma aliança, construída nas grandes fazendas dos Campos Gerais do Paraná entre uma parcela de índios escravos e negros africanos escravos fugidos, a qual se concretizou nas matas mistas de Araucárias e se consolidou com a contribuição de uma fração de camponeses poloneses e de imigrantes ucranianos, que conseguiram escapar do genocídio da Guerra do Contestado. Na contemporaneidade, a formação social do faxinal tem diversas definições, tanto do ponto de vista de pesquisadores do Estado, quanto dos camponeses faxinalenses, que englobam seu tripé de sustentação: terras de uso comum no criadouro comum ou comunitário, cercas das terras de uso comum do criadouro comum ou comunitário e terras agrícolas ou terras de planta. As práticas sociais comuns e religiosas são o que consolidam o modo de vida dos camponeses faxinalenses, mesmo enfrentando conflitos sociais e ambientais. Os resultados dessa pesquisa confirmam a luta e a resistência dos camponeses faxinalenses para se manterem enquanto classe para si e a certeza da manutenção da formação social do faxinal ou da sua expansão por meio da reconquista de espaços da fração do território comunitário camponês faxinalense expropriado pelo desenvolvimento do modo capitalista de produção no campo paranaense. / The practice of shared lands since immemorial times, in its more diverse forms, was or still it is practiced in diverse places of the world, as in France Vaine Pâtre, Biens Communaux , Italy Della Comurione, Le Terre Del Compascuo , Angola, Colombia and Portugal Baldios ; Spain Baldios e Montes Veciñais en Man Común ; Germany, England, the Ukraine, Poland and Brazil, among others countries. In the Brazil, the shared lands and its natural resources are appropriate for a fraction of the peasantry. The use of these lands is followed of indispensable elements of identity of the busy territory and the rules of appropriation, that express themselves in diverse forms and denominations, as Lands of Black color, Lands of Saint, Lands of the Indians, Lands of Inheritance, Untied Lands, deep of grassland and communal lands. We understand that, until the moment, theres a gap in the Brazilian Agrarian Geography of research that deepens an analysis on the peasantry, which often appropriates of the natural resources (using them with equilibry) in the communal lands. Our central objective of this research is the interpretation of the historical trajectory of this fraction of the peasantry and its territory, understanding that the peasantry, by means of its fights, constitutes itself as a social class (class for itself), and, as politicians citizens, to multiply in the capitalist way of production, stop a class fight. To understand the use of shared lands and its natural resources for this fraction of the brazilian and paranaense peasantry had made necessary to rescue these practices in the Spain and Portugal, as well as, its diverse followed forms of the variants of the ownership and property of the land in Brazil. The genesis of the communal lands of the Paraná occurred through an alliance constructed in the great farms of the General Fields of the Paraná, and enters a fraction of enslaved indians and Africans black run away enslaved, which materialize themselves in the mixing bushes of pine and its consolidation occurred with the contribution of a fraction of the polish peasants, Ukrainans immigrants and peasants who had obtained to escape of the genocide of the War of the Contested one. In the contemporaneity, the social formation of the communal land has diverse definitions, as much of the point of view of researchers, of the State, how much of the faxinalenses peasants, who hold its tripod of sustentation: shared lands in the common or communitarian creator, agricultural shared lands of the common or communitarian creator, lands or lands of plant. Social common practical and the religious ones are that they consolidate the way of life of the faxinalenses peasants, exactly facing social and ambient conflicts. The results of this research confirm the fight and resistance of the peasantry to multiply while classroom for itself and the certainty of the maintenance of the social formation of the communal land or its expansion through reconquest of spaces of its territory expropriated by the development in the capitalist way of production in the paranaense field.

Esta tese para o doutoramento em Letras, na área dos Estudos Comparados de Literaturas de Língua Portuguesa, investiga as questões relacionadas aos aspectos culturais, literários, transculturais e identitários presentes nas obras ficcionais: Nosso musseque (2003), do angolano José Luandino Vieira e Viva o povo brasileiro (1984), do brasileiro João Ubaldo Ribeiro, a partir da perspectiva do estudo comparativo da solidariedade das literaturas dos países de Língua Portuguesa. Analisa os principais processos determinantes da afirmação, (trans)formação e reconstrução da identidade nacional como: mestiçagem, hibridismo cultural e transculturação, como também identifica e compara a natureza do engajamento literário desses escritores. O presente estudo também busca evidenciar, nessas literaturas de Língua Portuguesa, as marcas identitárias construídas como autoafirmação das especificidades político-econômicas surgidas no século XX. Elas são a expressão poética de seus autores, pois pela importância que têm, representam um tempo, um espaço, um povo e também as culturas nelas reproduzidas. Tal investigação permite mostrar que as obras em estudo desempenham um papel relevante na representação da realidade sócio-histórica, em permanente projeção e (trans)formação de Angola e do Brasil. / This thesis in the area of comparative studies in Portuguese Language for a doctorate in arts faculty is based on researching issues related to cultural, literary, transcultural and identity aspects which are present in fictional works: Nosso musseque (2003), of the Angolan José Luandino Vieira and Viva o povo brasileiro (1984), of the Brazilian João Ubaldo Ribeiro, from the perspective of comparative study of the solidarity of the literatures of Portuguese-speaking countries, analyzing major processes that determine claim, (trans)formation and reconstruction of the national identity, such as: miscegenation, cultural, hybridity and transculturation, and also identify and compare the nature these writers literary engagement. This study also seeks to show in these literatures of Portuguese language brands identity constructed as self-affirmation of the political and economics specificities that arise in the twentieth century. They are poetic expression of their authors, as they have the importance that they represent not only a time, a space, a people, but also the culture reproduced in these respective literatures. Such research shows that the works play a important role in representing the socio-historical reality of Angola and Brazil in permanent projection and (trans)formation.

This thesis looks at the nature and evolution of communal responses to socio-economic problems in imperial Italy and Gaul. Ancient analysis of this topic tended to view any popular expression of discontent as the result of the moral failings of the plebs, or, somewhat more generously, as being due to poverty. These two lines of thought have had an effect on modern scholarship, shaping opinion not only on how the Roman elite viewed the general population, but also influencing and distorting our view of the actual situation. In some cases, poverty certainly was the underlying cause of unrest, as it has so often been throughout human history; to see it as the sole cause (and to imagine that the Romans perceived it to be the sole cause) is, however, an oversimplification. This thesis aims to show that a complex array of factors was responsible for those popular actions (e.g. grain riots) traditionally seen as reactions to deprivation. It will be seen that not only the socio-economic problems that caused these actions, but also the underlying customs and social mores that dictated how people reacted to these problems were manifold. In addition to showing the socio-economic complexities that dictated popular response, this thesis will show that said response could take a variety of forms, and that just as we must steer ourselves away from simplistic adages like panem et circenses when searching for a cause, we must move beyond the more sensational instances of violence, crime and unrest when looking for a response. A number of reactions, from beggary to banditry, are therefore considered, in order to show the various communal responses available to those at the lower end of the socio-economic scale. Given the vast amount of time and space covered, this thesis will explore diachronic and geographical developments in the nature of communal response. By considering the wider socio-economic developments that precipitated the various responses considered, it will be shown that there was indeed a distinct evolution in the way in which the people reacted to specific stimuli, governed by factors such as the amount of imperial contact, adherence to pre-existing social structures, and, interestingly, a growing sense of popular political involvement.

Le continent africain se distingue par le foisonnement des organisations à vocation intégrative. Ces organisations adoptent des actes qui s’imposent aux Etats membres ainsi qu’aux structures communautaires et qui ont vocation à être appliqués aux particuliers. Les juridictions communautaires sont dans ce cadre appelées à jouer un rôle central dans la dynamique d’intégration.Il apparaît cependant que les juridictions communautaires de l’Afrique en général et de l’Afrique de l’ouest et du centre en particulier jouent encore un rôle assez effacé, d’où le piétinement du processus d’intégration. Quels facteurs freinent la pleine efficacité de ces juridictions et quelles améliorations pourraient être apportées afin d’en faire des moteurs de l’intégration régionale ? Pour répondre à ces interrogations nous nous intéressons aussi bien au rapport vertical impliquant juridictions, Etats membres et institutions communautaires qu’au rapport horizontal, c’est-à-dire avec les juridictions nationales d’une part et celles communautaires d’autre part. Une restructuration ainsi qu’une relecture des différentes voies de droit sont ensuite proposées. / The African continent is distinguished by the proliferation of organizations with an integrative vocation. These organizations adopt acts that are binding on the Member States as well as on community structures and which are intended to be applied to individuals. In this context, Community courts are called upon to play a central role in the integration process.It appears, however, that the Community jurisdictions of Africa in general and of West and Central Africa in particular still play a rather unclear role, hence the trampling of the integration process.What factors hinder the full effectiveness of these jurisdictions and what improvements could be made to make them engines of regional integration? To answer these questions we are interested both in the vertical relationship involving jurisdictions, Member States and Community institutions, as well as in the horizontal relationship, that is to say with national courts on the one hand and Community courts on the other. A restructuring as well as a re-reading of the different lines of law are then proposed.

In this dissertation, I will explore how 1990s and 2000s British, Irish and South Asian historical films represented the violent legacy of partition on the island of Ireland and in South Asia, respectively. I contend that a cross-regional and cross-national examination of the relationships between national memory, national cinema and minority will reveal that partition had a similar effect on Irish, South Asian and Northern Irish societies: the alignment of a normative national identity with a particular religious identity. This study will explore how key Irish, British and South Asian cinematic texts, despite being produced in disparate production contexts, similarly represent the brutal marginalization of gendered and religious minorities as a central legacy of partition. In my engagement with these films, I have two central areas of exploration. The first is how these films challenge state or majoritarian histories by presenting themselves as historical texts that correct the historical record. I will show how state histories (Michael Collins), majoritarian narratives (Hey!Ram), repressed gendered minority histories (Khamosh Pani, The Magdalene Sisters) and post-conflict narratives (Five Minutes of Heaven and Fiza) contest majoritarian or colonial histories. The second, and ancillary, area of exploration is how the international trauma film genre influences the films' respective representations of atrocity. I argue that trauma theory can help us understand minorities' relationship to the state and the ongoing impact of particular historical events on community and nation. To ground my comparative analysis, I draw from postcolonial theory, poststructuralism and trauma theory. In conclusion, I will contend that these films' minority figures remind us of the dangers of nationalism's limited imaginative boundaries and the role that cinema plays in helping us to think beyond its limitations.