This study explores how the immigration status of the 'asylum seeker' impacts upon notions of 'identity', 'community' and 'belonging' whilst claiming asylum in the UK. By taking a narrativedialogical approach this research explores the stories that have been constructed around 'asylum' by policy, those working with 'asylum seekers' and 'asylum seekers' themselves. This research looks at how the 'official' narratives of asylum are operationalised and delivered by workers contracted to implement government policy. The study also explores how those making a claim for asylum narrate their lives whilst living in dispersal sites in one region of the UK with particular focus paid to exploring how asylum and dispersal impacts upon 'identity' and 'belonging'. The data for this project was generated in three phases. In the first phase of data generation ten asylum support managers participated in semi-structured interviews. These managers worked for local authorities in the Region planning the strategy and delivery of the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) policies to 'asylum seekers' accommodated locally. The second phase of the research also included workers involved in delivering NASS support but in a service delivery role. Twenty-two people from across the Region were invited to attend three separate focus groups. The third and final phase of the research involved the participation of ten 'asylum seekers', living in dispersal sites across the Region, in lengthy narrative interviews. The data was analysed using narrative analytical techniques informed by the work of Clandinin and Connelly (2000) and Riessman (2004) around thematic narrative analysis and guided by the theory of 'dialogism' (Bakhtin, 1981). The research revealed that integrating a narrative-dialogical approach to understanding the casylum' experience has allowed space for a piece of research that appears to 'fit' into the fife worlds of the 'asylum seeker'. Moving toward a theoretical stance of dialogism has made it possible to explore an alternative way in which the production of narratives relate to both the personal and the social world of the individual. Rather than discounting the possibility that conflict and contradiction can exist in personal narratives simultaneously this research has shown that by taking a narrative-dialogical approach embraces the schizophrenic quality that appears to punctuate the narratives of exiles and 'asylum seekers'. The research has also shown that those contracted to operationalise and deliver NASS support to asylum seekers are not reduced to simple ventriloquists in the support process. Instead what has emerged are support service workers that take a creative and active role in interpreting their 'roles' to be conducive with the perceived needs of their organisation, the 'community' and the 'asylum seeker'. Narrating their work as a 'quest' support service workers can be seen as active and often 'heroic' in the way in which they act as a 'buffer' between the policies designed by NASS and the asylum seekers they support. By using Bakhtin's notion of authoritative and internally persuasive discourse (Bakhtin, 1981), support service workers can be seen to be adhering to components of the 'official' or authoritative discourse whilst at the same time transforming other components that are not seen as internally persuasive. From the narrative accounts generated with 'asylum seekers' it emerged that conflict and contradiction appeared to confound their attempts to produce narrative coherence. This conflict and contradiction appeared to suggest a good deal of psychological tension as 'asylum seekers' attempted to narrate; feelings of belonging, the balance between security and uncertainty and their feelings of 'home' and identity. What appeared was a dialogical quality to their narrative accounts which emphasised simultaneity but due to their restricted inunigration status did not have the 'privilege' of being both/and. Rather what emerged was a dialogical structure that can be seent o be characterisedb y the tension of being 'in between' but being 'neither/nor'. Such a position restricts the ability to 'move and mix' (Hermans and Kempen, 1998) in their new milieu as they are held in stasis and limbo by the multiple voices spoken by the 'asylum system'.

This research provides a sociological understanding of front line hospitality staff, focusing particularly on waiters and pursers that are employed on cruise ships. Its purpose is to evaluate the complexities and richness of their work and social experiences as they negotiate, create and justify their identities and community formations in the unique and under-researched environment of a cruise ship. Conceptually, the research investigates the inevitable and inextricable links between identity, work and community to explore their perceptions of themselves, others and their world. To comprehend some of the complexity of work and life, the study uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods through online questionnaires and interviews. The methods used are both guided and to some extent restricted because of the lack of co-operation from the firms involved towards carrying out research on cruise ship workers. An online questionnaire, able to reach a mobile and transient population, is exploratory and descriptive in focus offering a preliminary opportunity to highlight key indicators of relationships and patterns in a field where there has been little research. To further develop understanding, data was gathered from twenty semi structured interviews and was analysed thematically and metaphorically. The broader thematic analysis identified how space, time and the system of the ship had an impact upon one‟s occupation and relationships, while the deeper metaphor analysis was able to creatively gather an “insider‟s” view of the participant‟s work, community and cruise ship environment. What is clear, from this study, is that all participants created a ship-based identity, which was different from how they perceived themselves on land. Being an environment that is unique, workers have to adapt, adopt and sacrifice - their previous identity has to be reshaped to meet the criteria of the place and system of the ship. Waiters were significantly more likely to define themselves and their world based upon their occupational perceptions and relationship with management, while pursers reflected upon their social and personal opportunities as a tool for self definition. The outcomes of the research present an exploratory, in-depth account of the working lives of hospitality workers on cruise ships. The findings will be of value and relevance to cruise ship operators when tackling social issues relating to the employment of cruise ship workers.

The vegetation of the Subalpine Mountain Hemlock Zone was studied on 130 sample plots with analytic and synthetic methods of the Zürich-Montpellier school of phytosociology. This thesis describes 14 plant associations, predominantly of vascular plants, from two altitudinal subzones of the Subalpine Zone. Published radiosonde temperature data, in combination with thermograph data from Mount Seymour, were used to characterize the climate of the zone. In winter, which is the season of maximum precipitation, the freezing isotherm most frequently occurs at altitudes near the lower limit of mountain hemlock. A climatic result is the sharp increase in snow accumulation and duration near the lower limit of this species; an ecological result is the relatively sharp boundary between the Subalpine Mountain Hemlock Zone and the Coastal Western Hemlock Zone. Thus, the lower limit of the zone is indicated by the presence of mountain hemlock as a component of the forests and the upper limit is marked by the altitudinal "tree limit" of mountain hemlock. The zonal limits were placed at 3000 and 5000 feet in the Seymour - Grouse - Hollyburn - Cathedral Mountain area near the Strait of Georgia, and at 3700 and 5500 feet in the Paul Ridge - Diamond Head portion of Garibaldi Park. The lowest 600 to 800 feet of the zone are covered with continuous forest of mountain hemlock, amabilis fir, yellow cedar and western hemlock. This continuous forest is designated as the lower subzone. The upper boundaries of the zone, in contrast to the lower, are irregular as a result of topographic influences on snow duration. Snow accumulation increases with altitude so that near the tree limit mountain hemlock can grow only on prominences or ridges where snow duration is less. Most early stages of vegetation appear to develop towards the Phyllodoce - Cassiope association in the upper subzone. At altitudes of approximately 5000 feet and over (Alpine Zone), this association occupies mesic habitats where the relief is flat or convex and without seepage. In contrast, this same association occupies concave topographic positions, with temporary seepage, in the Subalpine Zone. Snow duration is approximately the same on this association in both bioclimatic zones. However, because of its occurrence on two distinct topographies it is chionophobous in the Alpine Zone but moderately chionophilous in the Subalpine Zone, when considered in relation to adjacent associations. The Vaccinium membranaceum - Rhododendron association is the most successionally advanced in the upper subzone. Near its lower limit, this association occupies mesic habitats but at its upper limit in the Alpine Zone it becomes a 'topographic climax' restricted to warmer exposures or to ridges between areas of Phyllodoce and Cassiope. In the lower subzone, the Vaccinium alaskaense association is successionally most advanced. Even if a distinct climatic "climax" association is recognized for the lower subzone, there are no tree species limited specifically to this altitudinal level. Both subzones are unified by the same tree species into one Subalpine Zone. Within this altitudinal belt most zonal features of the vegetation are related to the intensity, quantity and duration of snow. / Science, Faculty of / Botany, Department of / Graduate

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Social networking services (SNS) like Facebook are used by an increasing number of people worldwide for social exchange. Given the amount of time that is spent on these online services, they are likely to have an impact on how individuals interact with each other. On this note, anecdotal examples emphasize both positive (i.e., expanding or strengthening relationships) and negative effects (i.e., bullying, feelings of disconnectedness). To shed more light on this issue, scholars from various disciplines have started to investigate the significance of social networking services on interpersonal relationships and on how individuals might experience benefits on the one hand, or face challenges through the use of online services on the other hand [1, 2]. One research interest that has gained significant attention in recent years is the analysis of effects that social networks may have on the quantity and quality of interpersonal online social support in different contexts. [... from the introduction]

The author’s intent in this dissertation is to follow a design process in order to arrive at a cohesive architectural solution. This process includes the formation of guidelines as a response to the pressing issues of urbanisation, environmental sustainability, and the need for housing. In addition, a development framework for the entire area of Salvokop will be proposed together with supporting analysis which too will contribute to the establishment of these guidelines. Existing local and international theories have also been considered in order to strengthen the foundation of the argument as is appropriate for this level of post-graduate study.Once the guidelines had been established they were individually tested against a variety of existing local and international precedents. This testing validated the inclusion of each guideline in the entire process, thus justifying their application to the design.The core idea of the thesis (Germinate: Architecture of Growth) provides the creative impetus, and along with the site, the program (or function), and the client, act as a set of catalysts for the arrival at the architectural product.The product presents the practical element of the suggested solution, and concludes the exploration of the housing and wider land-use options with the proposal of a mixed-use housing development (applying the previously mentioned guidelines) to create a relevant intervention in the suburb of Salvokop. / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Architecture / unrestricted

A thesis submitted to the Faculty Arts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department Of Recreation and Tourism at the University Of Zululand, South Africa, 2017 / The beneficial and magnanimous relationship between protected areas and communities staying adjacent to these areas is one of the most important mechanisms at our disposal in shaping and sustainably managing the natural environment and resources. In some instances, the progress made in developing a sound environmental governance framework, in the KZN protected areas, relating to UKhahlamba Drakensberg Park and Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Park, have been hindered by the environmental issues. The need to strengthen the implementation of appropriate environmental laws and policies still require bringing environmental sustainability principles into the mainstream of all aspects of governance, planning, decision-making and operation, in the protected areas of KwaZulu-Natal. Aswani and Weiant (2004) have affirmed that when local communities are excluded from the management of protected areas, and their needs and aspirations ignored, then it becomes extremely difficult to implement conservation policies. This research inquiry is fundamentally aimed at revealing the existing relationships between local communities and protected areas in KwaZulu-Natal: focusing on tracking the achievements made from the apartheid to the post-apartheid periods. The spatial analysis of these relationships is determined in places such as UKhahlamba Drakensberg Park and Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Park. In other words, the study seeks to objectify and establish how local communities understand the meaning and importance of the concept of conservation in the study area. It also attempts to find out if there are any business developments or partnership/relationship between the authoritative agencies and local communities. The methodology pursued in this study includes the selection of the sample, use of the research instrument for data collection in two (2) KwaZulu-Natal protected areas, namely, UKhahlamba Drakensberg Park and Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Park. Other methodologies that were used included the Semantic Differential technique, used to analyse respondents' attitudes, awareness, understanding and beneficiation. In conclusion the study established that, on the whole, the respondents were fully aware and understood the meaning and importance of the role of relationships in the benefit and sustainable value of Protected Areas in the study area. Also established by the study is that the exclusion of local communities tends to perpetuate hostile attitudes towards policies and the management of natural resources, thus leading to the practise of illegal activities. The findings of the study further indicated that the local communities do understand the meaning and importance of conservation services within the study area. Furthermore, the outcomes also indicated that there are limited to no tourism business ventures that have resulted for the community's beneficiation from the protected area. Eventually, it may be concluded that the respondents perceived that there were no business opportunities brought by the practice of tourism and conservation in the study area. It is an indictment on the authorities that the community indicated that there were no policies and strategies that they were aware of or successfully implemented in the study area. Finally, the idea that relationships and conservation appreciation was found to be inadequately contributing to community-based tourism and that its implementation was deficient, the study anticipated that designing a management model would facilitate its effectiveness. The success of such a model would stand as the ultimate contribution of this study to knowledge in the tourism discipline leading to better community beneficiation.

Surrounding land-use and in-lake data were collected to determine environmental variables influential in structuring centrarchid assemblages in oxbow lakes of the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) and to suggest environmental manipulation strategies that may improve the fisheries of these systems. I sampled 53 oxbow lakes using boat electrofishing and land-use data were summarized using ArcView GIS. Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling separated centrarchids according to water quality tolerance. Centrarchid composition was related to land-use, water clarity, maximum depth, connectivity, primary productivity, and physicochemistry as determined by Canonical Analysis of Principal Coordinates. Canonical Correspondence Analysis rejected the null hypothesis of no relationship between land-use and centrarchid proportional composition. Environmental variables were related significantly to centrarchid composition. Based on these data, a general fisheries management plan for oxbow lakes of the MAV was proposed.

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No description available.