Invasive species have become an increasing threat to many habitats worldwide. This research addressed the questions of whether several invasive woody plants can germinate, survive and grow in light levels typical of an undisturbed forest understory, and also whether alteration of the nitrogen cycle by one invader is likely to increase the rate of invasion by others.

Conscientious Discourse is an engagement where participants express their ideas truthfully, but also simultaneously focus on listening and responding to others. Facilitating and participating in conscientious classroom discourse is challenging. We present an approach — reinfrastructuring classroom discourse — by offering students and instructors more information in the initial moments of discourse through a system we developed, ThoughtSwap. This approach emphasizes focused, punctuated moments of attention to one's own and other people's ideas. 49%-100% of students participated in the initial entry of ideas over the course of the semester in 25 classes with nine instructors. The study showed that ThoughtSwap had operational success in that, on the average, instructors used ThoughtSwap once every other week during the semester. Furthermore, student participation rate ranged from 49% to 100%. This work further presents 1) the ways instructors adapted and adopted ThoughtSwap, and 2) the pedagogical goals and challenges they report using the tool. / Doctor of Philosophy / Facilitating and participating in classroom discourse is difficult. The process becomes even more challenging with the goal of inviting what we call Conscientious Discourse, where the participants not only share their ideas but also engage in both self-examination and reflection of other people's ideas. We present an approach — reinfrastructuring classroom discourse — by offering students and instructors more information in the initial moments of discourse through using a system we developed, ThoughtSwap. ThoughtSwap is not the mechanism by which discussion takes place, but instead changes the informational conditions under which synchronous discussions are held. In response to an instructor prompt, students contribute initial written thoughts under conditions of ``contained anonymity". Additionally, instructors may ask students to represent and respond to ``swapped" thoughts, contributed by other people present in the class. These actions created moments of focused encounter in which class members can contemplate their own ideas in relationship to other peoples' ideas as they begin actual discussion. ThoughtSwap use was studied in the context of university instruction by 9 instructors in 25 classes over the course of 6 semesters, to further their teaching goals. The study showed that ThoughtSwap seemed to have operational success in that, on the average, instructors used ThoughtSwap once every other week during the semester that did not contain guest speakers, tests, or holidays. Furthermore, student participation rate ranged from 49% to 100%. Instructors participated in focus groups and articulated their plans, goals, concerns and experiences. In this work I further present and discuss 1) the ways instructors adapted and adopted ThoughtSwap, and 2) the pedagogical goals and challenges they report using the tool. Secondary kinds of results that may also inform future work relate to student-level demographic and attitudinal data, and the design and creation of a system variant that attempted to respond to Covid. Most importantly, ThoughtSwap offers instructors and students an opportunity to deepen the chances for learning in the instructional environment.

Increasing pressure to transform teaching and learning of engineering is supported by mounting research evidence for the value of learner-centered pedagogies. Despite this evidence, engineering faculty are often unsuccessful in applying such teaching approaches often because they lack the necessary knowledge to customize these pedagogies for their unique contexts. My dissertation study investigated the challenges with facilitation practices in introductory PBL engineering courses and developed a pragmatic research-based model that provides insights aimed at improving PBL facilitation practices using the Innovation Cycle of Educational Practice and Research (ICEPR) as a lens. The ICEPR is useful for investigating connections between educational practice and research for scholarly and systematic educational innovations. I conducted a three-phase sequential study to address critical gaps in the ICEPR regarding both research on and practice of PBL facilitation in engineering. I focused on identifying challenges in practice, developing a model, and disseminating the model through a typology using multiple qualitative data collection and analysis methods. In Phase 1, I studied a new PBL implementation and identified a challenge with facilitator training specifically with regard to a lack of a pragmatic model of facilitation strategies in engineering. In Phase 2, I investigated the facilitation practices of five facilitators in an established PBL engineering course. This resulted in the Model of PBL Facilitation Strategies for Introductory Engineering Courses (PBL-FIEC), where I specifically operationalized the instructional methods constructs from Collins' Cognitive Apprenticeship Framework to describe the variety of ways instructors facilitate student learning in PBL introductory engineering courses. The PBL-FIEC includes six methods and 27 strategies ways for instructors to facilitate students' learning through providing and prompting demonstrations of cognitive and metacognitive processes that emphasize content and process knowledge and different ways of knowing (knowledge, understanding, and reasoning). In Phase 3, I developed a Typology of Facilitation Strategies using PBL-FIEC and observations of instructors to demonstrate how they use and combine facilitation methods. Ultimately, my dissertation research shows how the ICEPR can be used to understand that innovation in educational practice relies on the interaction between researchers and practitioners, while generating a model directly useful for both stakeholders. / Ph. D.

L'objectif de cette étude a été de préciser l'implication des processus rhizosphériques dans lesinteractions pour l'acquisition de phosphore (P) entre une céréale et une légumineuse enassociation. Nous avons proposé comme mécanisme de facilitation l'acidification de la rhizosphèredes espèces en association induite par la fixation de N2 de la légumineuse dans le cas de sol neutres àalcalins. Ainsi, l'étude s'est focalisée sur l'influence des changements de pH induits par les racines.Les effets de la disponibilité initiale en P du sol ainsi que de la distance entre les racines des espècesassociées ont également été testés. Les expérimentations ont été menées au champ ainsi qu'enconditions contrôlées. Le blé dur et différentes légumineuses ont été cultivés en culturemonospécifique ou en association sur un même sol pour toutes les expérimentations. Le sol neutreutilisé (Luvisol) présentait trois niveaux contrastés de fertilisation phosphatée et provenait desparcelles d'un essai de longue durée. Nous avons pu démontrer que la manipulation des interactionsrhizosphériques entre une céréale et une légumineuse en association pouvait être optimisée pourpermettre l'augmentation de la disponibilité en P dans la rhizosphère des espèces associées, etencore plus dans le cas de sols présentant une faible valeur initiale de disponibilité. Lescaractéristiques du sol ont eu un rôle clé dans la détermination des processus rhizosphériquesimpliqués. Dans notre cas, les changements de pH induits par les racines ont permis d'augmenter defaçon substantielle la disponibilité en P suite à une acidification, mais aussi à une alcalinisation de larhizosphère. Ainsi la légumineuse, mais aussi la céréale sont susceptibles de faciliter l'acquisition del'espèce associée. Les interactions relatives au pH peuvent influencer la disponibilité en P sur unedistance de plusieurs millimètres et ainsi améliorer l'acquisition de P des plantes à proximité del'espèce facilitatrice.Mots clés : culture associée, facilitation, rhizosphère, disponibilité, phosphore, pH, racine / The aim of the study was to elucidate the implication of rhizospheric processes on plant speciesinteractions for phosphorus (P) acquisition between a cereal and a legume, when intercropped. Weproposed that root-induced acidification of the rhizosphere by the intercropped legume due to N2-fixation as a mechanism of facilitation in neutral to alkaline soils. Thus, the study focused on rootinducedchanges of pH. The effects of initial soil P availability and distance between roots ofintercropped species were also tested. In order to achieve our goals, experiments in the field and incontrolled condition for several cropping devices were conducted. Durum wheat and differentlegumes were grown as sole crops and intercropped on the same soil for all the experiments. Weused a neutral soil (Luvisol) presenting three contrasted fertilization rates from the field of a longtermP fertilizer trial. We demonstrated that cereal-legume can be used to enhance P availability, andeven more so in low P soils, through managing rhizospheric interactions to optimize P acquisition ofintercropped species. Soil characteristics are also a key factor determining the influence of thoserhizospheric processes. In our studied soil root-induced changes of pH substantially enhanced Pavailability in the rhizosphere either through acidification or alkalization. Thus the legume but alsothe cereal may facilitate the acquisition of the intercropped species. Interactions involving pH canaffect P availability over distance of several millimeters and ultimately enhance P acquisition ofplants in the surrounding of the facilitative species.Key words: intercrop, facilitation, rhizosphere, availability, phosphorus, pH, root

L'agroforesterie consiste à mélanger sur la même surface des arbres et des cultures et nécessite que des relations de complémentarité s'établissent entre les deux espèces pour diminuer la compétition pour les ressources, notamment au niveau des interactions racinaires. L'objectif du travail de cette thèse était de tester et d'évaluer la possibilité de piloter l'enracinement de jeunes pêchers sous les racines de la culture associée (enherbement) afin d'établir une complémentarité dans l'utilisation des ressources du sol et en utilisant deux leviers: (i) un déficit hydrique modéré pour changer le patron d'allocation du carbone entre les compartiments aérien et souterrain en faveur des racines et (ii) la compétition interspécifique pour l'eau pour exclure les racines de l'arbre des horizons de sol superficiels et le contraindre à pousser en profondeur. Pour cela, un verger de pêchers composé de trois traitements (témoin bien irrigué, déficit modéré, déficit modéré + enherbement) a été installé en janvier 2013 et suivi pendant deux ans. La croissance du compartiment aérien a été suivie de manière dynamique sur la saison de croissance et des excavations racinaires ont été effectuées chaque année à la fin de la saison de croissance. Nos résultats montrent que tous les composants de la croissance ont été significativement réduit par le déficit hydrique très modéré. La combinaison d'un déficit hydrique modéré et d'un enherbement total ont réduit par quatre la taille des arbres au bout de deux années de croissance, réduction causée par deux mécanismes probablement additifs: (i) la compétition de l'herbe pour l'espace, réduisant le volume de sol prospectable par les racines de l'arbre et par répercussion le volume de l'appareil aérien et (ii) la compétition de l'herbe pour l'eau, qui en créant un dessèchement du sol, amène probablement le pêcher à générer des signaux racinaires à destination des parties aériennes pour réduire la transpiration par fermeture des stomates. Nos résultats sur les racines montrent que le développement du système racinaire du pêcher dans les conditions de notre étude pendant les deux premières années après la plantation est essentiellement plagiotrope. Le rapport racines/branches n'a pas été significativement modifié en faveur des racines sous l'effet du déficit hydrique mais la combinaison du déficit hydrique et de la compétition avec l'enherbement a diminué par trois la biomasse racinaire des arbres et exclu totalement les racines de l'horizon de surface (0-10 cm) au bout de deux ans. Cependant, la croissance racinaire se concentre majoritairement dans les 30 premiers cm de sol pour tous les traitements, mais une faible proportion du système racinaire totale (5%) des pêchers en condition hydrique non limitante dépasse les 70 premiers cm de sol (profondeur d'excavation maximale de l'étude) et est capable de prélever de l'eau jusqu'à 2 m de profondeur. Ainsi, nos résultats amène à penser que la séparation des systèmes racinaires entre l'arbre et la culture est très certainement une propriété émergente pilotable, à conditions de caractériser l'architecture racinaire de l'arbre et notamment sa plasticité chez des arbres jeunes. Des pratiques innovantes telles que l'installation des arbres par semis puis greffage au champ de la variété de production pourraient permettre de s'affranchir des traumatismes racinaires inhérents au mode de production des plants en pépinière. Il est également possible de moduler l'effet de la culture associée en sélectionnant des espèces et variétés dont la capacité compétitive souterraine est adaptée au stade de développement de l'arbre, en associant par exemple des espèces à faible capacité compétitive au début de son développement et à capacité compétitive graduellement plus importante au fur et à mesure qu'il grandit. / Agroforestry consists of association trees and crop in the same plot and requires that complementarity relationships be established between the two species in order to reduce competition, especially at the root level. The aim of this work was to test and evaluate the possibility of driving young peach tree roots under the roots of the associated crop (grass) in order to establish complementarity in resources uptake using two levers: (i) e moderate water deficit to change the carbon allocation pattern between shoots and roots in favour of roots and (ii) interspecific water competition to exclude tree roots from the first soil horizons and force them to grow at depth. To do so, we planted in January 2013 a peach tree orchard composed of three treatments (well-watered control, moderate water deficit and moderate water deficit + grass groundcover) which was monitored for two years. Shoot growth was dynamically monitored over the growing season and root excavations were performed each year at the end of the growing season. Our results show that all components of aerial growth were significantly reduced by the very moderate water deficit applied. The combination of a moderate water deficit and a grass groundcover led to a fourfold reduction in tree size after two years due to (i) grass competition for space, which reduced soil volume for the tree roots and consequently reduced shoot size and (ii) grass competition for water which by drying the soil led the tree to send root to shoot signals in order to reduce transpiration by stomatal closure. Our results on roots show that peach tree roots in the first two years of growth are mainly plagiotropic in the conditions of our study. The root/shoot ratio was not significantly modified in favour of roots under a moderate water deficit but combination of water deficit with grass competition led to a threefold reduction in root biomass et excluded tree roots from the topsoil horizon (0-10 cm) after two years. However, root growth mainly concentrated in the first 30 cm of soil in all treatments, but a small fraction of the root system (5%) in the control treatment was growing below the first 70 cm of soil (maximal excavation depth in our study) and was able to take up water up to 2 m depth. Thus, our results suggest that root system separation between trees and crop is a manageable emerging property, given that tree root architecture is characterized, and especially its plasticity in young trees. Innovating practices such as sowing trees and grafting them in the field could alleviate root injuries inherent to nursery practices. It is also possible to adjust the effect of the associated crop by selecting species and cultivars whose competitive ability is adapted to the tree age, by associating species with low competitive ability at the beginning of the tree development and with gradually more important competitive ability as the tree ages.

Published Article / The Academic Planning Committee of the Central University Of Technology, Free State stated in April 2003 that academic success depends on academic institutions to create a learner-centred educational environment. In a learner-centred approach to the facilitation of learning, curriculum design, instruction and assessment focuses on what the learner should be able to do successfully. The mentioned Learner-centeredness is closely related to the principles of outcomes-based education (OBE). The purpose of this article is, therefore, to explore the feasibility of a learner-centred approach to the facilitation of learning in the context of Financial Accounting I, by considering the possible implementation of the four essential principles of OBE.

Abstract The Winter Summer Institute in Theatre for Development (WSI) is a biennial inter university programme that integrates a number of already established methods and ideas charted by other theorists in drama and theatre. As a pedagogical approach, its generative process relies on employing techniques such as improvisation and spontaneity. This study endeavours to unpack the principles and strategies that inform the generative process of theatre - making in the WSI. It emerged from the perception that the notion of ‘theatre without script’ (Fox 1994) underpins the work of the WSI, as it offers experiential and experimentational theatre-making. ‘Rapid cognition,’ a theory concerned with the ability to think instinctively, circumventing time and logic was used as the theoretical framework. Gladwell (2005) maintains that the life experience that individuals possess has enough power to intuitively and rapidly guide them to correct understanding, without necessarily complying with the formal procedures of time and logic. Qualitative research was used, particularly phenomenology, as a research methodology involving a choice of complementary methods. Findings reveal that for ‘rapid cognition’ to manifest itself, the environment, time pressure and planning are crucial. Although ‘rapid cognition’ falls within the mode of the “right hemisphere” of the brain, evidence in the study suggests that it can be trained. The benefits of which would include a heightened awareness in decision making, thus increased appropriateness in the choices of content and form in the WSI theatre-making. The study goes further in making theorized demonstration of ‘rapid cognition’, in many ways; it offers an affirmation of the power of theatre beyond mundane entertainment.

[pt] Essa dissertação de mestrado aborda as relações da poesia com a psicanálise buscando compreender a importância da primeira para a construção teórica da segunda. Assim, num primeiro momento buscou-se traçar um breve percurso acerca da poesia, para depois se adentrar a obra de Freud interrogando por que ele citou tanto os poetas. Nesse sentido, a diferenciação entre processos primários e secundários, além das noções de facilitação (Bahnung) e a posteriori (Nächtraglichkeit) são investigadas como mportantes para uma articulação em torno da originariedade poética. Num segundo momento da dissertação, a partir da noção derridiana de différance, questiona-se o uso da poesia como exemplo ilustrativo da efetividade de uma teoria. Essa discussão é feita a partir do seminário de Lacan sobre o conto The Purloined Letter de E.A.Poe e sua conclusão de que uma carta sempre chega ao seu destino. / [en] This MSc dissertation focus is on the relationship of poetry and psychoanalysis, seeking to understand the importance of the first for the theoretical construction of the second. Thus, initially a brief tour on poetry is made, and then we enter the work of Freud questioning why he quoted the poets so often. Accordingly, the distinction between primary and secondary processes, in addition to the concepts of facilitation (Bahnung) and deffered action (Nachträglichkeit) are investigated as important concepts to approach poetry originality. In a second moment of dissertation, from the Derrida`s notion of difference, the use of poetry as an illustrative example of the effectiveness of a theory is questioned. This discussion takes as its starting point the seminar of Lacan on The Purloined Letter of E. A. Poe and its conclusion that a letter always reaches its destination.

This master’s thesis explores the role of the facilitator in business model innovation [BMI]. In the last 15 years BMI has gained increasing importance for companies to establish a competitive advantage. Yet, BMI is considered to be marked by high complexity and phases of uncertainty in the process of creating it. Equipped with the skills and characteristics, a facilitator may support groups in their endeavor to create BMIs. As a result of a qualitative study including expert interviews and observations of facilitated workshops, five aggregated dimensions describing the role of the business model facilitator are identified. The results suggest that a facilitator may contribute to BMI by leading and navigating the process, supporting the group to generate knowledge and taking ideas to actions, sharing his or her own knowledge with the team, and by providing mental support and stability. Thereby, the facilitator may contribute to BMI on three levels: the team level, the process level, and the new business model.

O objetivo do estudo foi estimar os impactos do tempo dos procedimentos portuários sobre as exportações brasileiras. O trabalho utiliza uma base de dados inovadora com dados de exportações municipais, com distinção do porto utilizado, país de destino e com produtos desagregados de acordo com o sistema harmonizado em 4 dígitos para o período de 2010 a 2012. Uma equação gravitacional em diferenças foi estimada pelo método de efeitos fixos utilizando as exportações municipais relativas (volume e número de setores exportadores) contra medidas de tempo em horas dos procedimentos portuários e outras variáveis de controle. Os resultados da análise descritiva indicam a presença de um gargalo no escoamento da produção brasileira para o mercado internacional, e apontam para a necessidade de investimentos que ampliem a capacidade portuária, reduzindo as ineficiências que geram elevadas porcentagens do tempo de inoperância nos portos brasileiros. Os resultados das estimações indicam que, de modo geral, cada hora adicional na condução dos procedimentos portuários representam custos para os exportadores brasileiros, que podem estar se refletindo em perda da competitividade dos produtos nacionais no exterior. Segundo as estimações realizadas, cada hora adicional de estadia no porto mediano é equivalente a uma redução do volume total das exportações municipais em cerca de 1%. Além disso, uma redução de 10% no tempo de estadia relativo do navio no porto pode aumentar o número de categorias de produtos exportados entre 0,3% e 0,9%. / The purpose of this study was to estimate the impacts of the port procedures time on Brazilian exports. The study uses an innovative database with municipal exports, with distinction over the port used, country of destination, and with disaggregated products according to the harmonized system in 4 digits for the period from 2010 to 2012. A difference gravity equation was estimated by the fixed effect method using the relative municipal exports (volume and the number of exporter sectors) against time measured in hours of the port procedures and other control variables. The results of descriptive analysis indicate the presence of a bottleneck in the flow of Brazilian production for the international market, and point to the need for investments that increase port capacity, reducing the inefficiencies that generate high ineffectiveness time percentages in Brazilian ports. The estimation results indicate that, in general, each additional hour in the conduction of the port procedures represent costs to the Brazilian exporters. Those costs may be reflected in loss of competitiveness of the domestic products abroad. According to the estimates made, each additional hour of the ship stay in the median port is equivalent to a reduction of the municipal exports in around 1%. Besides that, a reduction of 10% in time of stay for a ship in port can increase the number of exported product categories between 0.3% and 0.9%.