No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The end-Ordovician mass extinction dramatically altered the course of conodont evolution. This extinction event is probably unique in that it can be strongly correlated with a glacial climatic control. This study has identified, through the application of high-resolution stratigraphy, events within the extinction and recovery intervals. Elements of the uppermost Ordovician Shelf-edge Biofacies were severely affected by the oceanic cooling and introduction of cold-water currents associated with the initiation of the glacial maximum. In contrast, elements of the Shelf Biofacies were more severely affected by the intense cooling, shallowing and overcrowding during the glacial maximum. A number of the Shelf-edge taxa that had survived the glacial maximum suffered extinction at the hands of increasing water temperatures, rising anoxia and/or the cessation of oceanic circulation during the post-glacial transgression. Recovery was initiated by the appearance of Crisis Progenitor Taxa within the glacial maximum in the Shelf Biofacies and during the post-glacial transgression in the Shelf- edge- Slope biofacies. The Shelf-edge Biofacies identified within the uppermost Ordovician is not recognised in the Lower Silurian. Two main biofacies occurred on the Shelf and Slope, which had directly evolved from their Upper Ordovician equivalents. The long-term recovery involved the evolution of Crisis Progenitor Taxa and Ecological Generalists within the Shelf and Slope Biofacies (autochthonous taxa). Punctuated equilibrium likely predominated in the Shelf Biofacies as a consequence of widely fluctuating physical conditions. In contrast, the more stable environments of the slope encouraged gradualistic evolution within the Slope Biofacies (Plus ça change Model). Transgressive episodes within the Llandovery, possibly linked to eccentricity cycles, caused the iterative appearance of Long-term Refugia Taxa (allochthonous taxa), sourced from a Pterospathodontid Biofacies. The transgressive episodes also drove elements of the Slope Biofacies onto the shelf. It has been observed that the mechanisms driving extinction, namely environmental disruption and temperature changes, were also responsible for fuelling the subsequent recovery.

On a daily basis we hear or read about new atrocious and violent conflicts that are emerging in countless countries around the world. At the same time, some of the previous conflicts are winding down and leading to negotiations and peaceful resolutions. In either of the cases, peacebuilding initiatives are put into place to establish relationships between the divided population which is and/or was at war. There are countless reconciliation methods which are used to reconcile the adult population which is and/or was in conflict with each other. Nonetheless, how and which reconciliation approaches are used when it comes to reconciling the children that have been directly or indirectly affected by the conflict in their country is not discussed to the same extend.  Thus the objective of this study is to analyse the available literature in order to gain a greater understanding of the methods which children partake in in order to foster reconciliation in a post-conflict environment. In total, 18 cases which pertain to children and reconciliation were analysed in order to find patterns, gaps and commonalities in the texts through the textual content analysis method. Furthermore, the findings were analysed in accordance to Galtung´s 12 reconciliation approaches.     Based on the analysis, it became clear how limited and scarce the literature is on reporting on the ways in which children reconcile. Furthermore, all of the texts present children as innocent victims who are not to blame for what had occurred. Despite the fact that children were victims as well as perpetrators in the conflict. Additionally, there is a clear distinction in the methods which are used to reconcile child soldiers versus children that were not directly involved in the conflict. In other words, many of the findings can aid in branching out the research to explore further the differences between child soldiers and non-child soldiers, as well as the general perception of children as victims. In addition, the concept of childhood and when one is considered a child should be explored, especially in non-western cultures, where an individual is considered a child under the age of 18, yet in other cultures “children” under 18 are married, have their own children, are responsible for their parents and very much live “adult” lives.

The study is in two parts. The first part examines the representation of the academic institute and the figure of the academic in GDR literature in the latter half of the GDR state’s existence. Specifically, it explores the interface between realist critiques of science and/or GDR academia and metaphorically coded critiques of the GDR state in a selection of texts by Christa Wolf, Helga Königsdorf and Günter de Bruyn. In this focus on the relationship between the realist and the metaphorical dimensions of the texts, my study differs from previous scholarship which has tended to foreground one or other aspect. A particular focus of this study are the ways in which these writers model the academic institute as a microcosm of the GDR state, with academic research projects standing for the GDR socialist project, and institutional dynamics representing social relations in the GDR. Having explored the relationship between the representation of the academic institute, the academic world and GDR society, I conclude the first part of this study by arguing that, perhaps surprisingly, there are similarities between these GDR ‘academia tales’ and the Anglo-American campus novel. Part Two of the study begins by examining the post-Wende representation of the restructuring, or Abwicklung, of the GDR academic establishment in texts by Helga Königsdorf and John Erpenbeck. This is followed by an overview of a series of texts in which the post-Wende experiences of east German academics, while treated more peripherally, nevertheless generate interesting readings. While there have been many historical and sociological analyses of academic Abwicklung, this is the first to examine literary treatments of the phenomenon. It explores the representation of academic Abwicklung both as a social issue in its own right, and as a starting point for broader political commentaries. Furthermore, by exploring the continued use of the academic institute as a metaphor for the GDR state, even after the latter’s collapse, this study supports the view that the Wende did not lead to an immediate reconceptualisation of political and aesthetic approaches in the literature produced by east German writers.

This thesis is concerned with the experiences and understandings of young people as they move from their final two years of compulsory education into a range of post-16 destinations including Further Education, work, apprenticeships and unemployment. The participants were all identified as being ‘hard to reach’ by school practitioners. The research responds to a need to deepen understanding of such young people ahead of the age of participation in education and training in England being raised to 18 in 2015. The research was conducted in the South West of England. The empirical research was undertaken between January 2008 and April 2010 and comprised semi-structured interviews with 51 young people who were interviewed between one and three times during that period. The data presented in this thesis is focused on 11 of those young people who were each interviewed on three occasions. The findings suggest similarities between the post-16 transition experiences of the young people participating here and those of young people in this age range, not identified as ‘hard to reach’. Notwithstanding these parallels, the research revealed that young peoples’ post-16 transitions and the aspirations they hold are often more nuanced than has been theorised in previous research. The findings raise questions about the implications of labelling young people, and 14-19 policy predicated upon assumptions regarding those who do not participate post-16. In conclusion it is suggested that at a time of continued economic uncertainty and UK youth unemployment approaching one million , young people need more flexibility in the school and post-16 experiences that are available and actively encouraged, rather than increased levels of constraint.

This thesis deals with how population dynamics in a post-socialist Russian village intertwine with the use of local resources. Specifically, it explores two interrelated issues: first, it looks at how attitudes to local resources vary, depending on people’s ways of engaging with place; second, it focuses on the contexts in which people reify and manipulate their identification with place by ascribing place-related identities to themselves and others as they deal with local resources. The research is based on fieldwork carried out in the village of Kuzomen’ on the White Sea Coast, in north-west Russia. Traditionally, research in Russia has focused on regions in which farming or herding is the main source of livelihood. This thesis explores the peculiarity of post-Soviet conditions in a part of Russia where fishing is the prevailing economic activity. The following questions were addressed: 1) what factors affect people’s relations with and attitudes towards resources in Kuzomen’? 2) how does the postsocialist condition affect resource use in the area? 3) what is the connection between people’s identification with place and their attitudes to its resources? The main findings are that the specificity of postsocialist conditions in Russia and population migration in Kuzomen’ have contributed to the differentiation of people’s attitudes to local resources. In particular, there is a difference between local people and incomers on the one hand, and between permanent dwellers and summer visitors on the other. The deterioration of established systems of state management and control, and the inefficient implementation of newly emerged legislation regarding resource use in post-Soviet Russia, have led to a situation in which access to resources is often regulated through informal arrangements. In these arrangements, identification with place becomes important as people use place-related identities such as local or incomer in their negotiations over access and rights to local resources.

M.A. thesis, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, 1999