澳洲原住民已經生存在澳洲大陸長達四萬年。他們有著自成一套的宗教系統、神話、風俗習慣、語言和藝術，遵循著使人和自然都共榮的生存方式。但是，由於白人的入侵，企圖強占他們的土地，使得澳洲原住民幾乎要絕滅。在大規模的屠殺和白人從歐洲帶來的傳染病流行之下，原住民的人口急遽減少，連他們的文化都受到威脅。因此，原住民成為澳洲社會中被邊緣化的少數族群。 因此，此篇論文要援引巴赫汀（Mikhail Bakhtin）提出的「時空型」的概念、法國史學家納拉（Pierre Nora）對於記憶的看法及相關的原住民文化，去探討傑克•戴維斯在《頭生兒三部曲》中，顯示出白澳社會對於原住民的壓迫及原住民在重建文化記憶和原住民本質的強化之下，所表現出來生存的毅力。第一章包含了白人和澳洲原住民接觸的歷史背景、傑克•戴維斯及其劇作的簡介，其他評論家對於《頭生兒三部曲》的評論。第二章中，我要援引巴赫汀的「時空型」的概念來討論在白人政府的壓迫之下，原住民所處嚴酷的社會環境及原住民弱勢的社會地位給原住民帶來的影響。第三章則援用納拉對於記憶的論點來分析戴維斯藉由說故事、舞蹈和夢境來創造「記憶場域」（lieux de mémoire）以保留原住民對於其文化的記憶。第四章則是探討原住民本質所帶來的能力增強。藉由此能力強化，原住民得到了對抗白人迫害的力量，且可以為自己發聲。第五章則是為前四章所論做總結。 / Indigenous Australians have lived in Australia for 40,000 years. They develop their own system of religion and mythology, social conventions, language and arts, observing a life that can make both the environment and human beings prosperous. But Aboriginals are driven to extinction by the White who intend to possess their land. Because of large scale of massacres and diseases, both the number of Aboriginal population and their culture are endangered. Indigenous Australians become the marginalized minority in Australian society. Therefore, with the reference to Mikhail Bakhtin’s idea of the chronotope, Pierre Nora’s concept of memory and related Aboriginal culture, this thesis aims to discuss that Jack Davis, in The First Born trilogy, presents the oppression of White Australian society to Aboriginal people and displays Aboriginals’ persistence in survival through the reconstruction of Aboriginal memory and the empowerment of Aboriginality. Chapter One includes the general historical background of the contact between the White and Aboriginals, the introduction to Jack Davis and his plays, and the criticism on Davis’s trilogy. In Chapter Two, I take advantage of Bakhtin’s idea of the chronotope to discuss the severe social environment of indigenous Australians who are oppressed by the White Australian government and the social consequences of Aboriginals’ disadvantaged position in society. Chapter Three aims to utilize Pierre Nora’s concept of memory to analyze that Davis, through stories, dances, and dream visions, creates lieux de mémoire to preserve Aboriginal memory. Chapter Four concentrates on the empowerment of Aboriginality, which offers a subversive force for Aboriginals to fight against the White persecution and have their voice heard. Chapter Five is the concluding chapter to wrap up these three plays.

This research investigates soil respiration (Rs) in a boreal jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) fire scar chronosequence at Sharpsand Creek, Ontario, Canada. During two field campaigns in 2006 and 2007, Rs was measured in a chronosequence of fire scars in the range 0 to 59 years since fire. Mean Rs adjusted for soil temperature (Ts) and soil moisture (Ms) (Rs T,M) ranged from 0.56 μmol CO2/m2/s (32 years post fire) to 8.18 μmol CO2/m2/s (58 years post fire). Coefficient of variation (CV) of Rs adjusted for Ts and Ms ranged from 20% (16 years post fire) to 56% (58 years post fire). Across the field site, there was a significant exponential relationship between Rs adjusted for soil organic carbon (Cs) and Ts (P = 1.24*10-06; Q10 = 2.21) but no effect of Ms on Rs adjusted for Cs and Ts for the range 0.21 to 0.77 volumetric Ms (P = 0.702). Rs T,M significantly (P = 0.030) decreased after burning mature forest, though no significant (P > 0.1) difference could be detected between recently burned and unburned young forest. Rs was measured in recently burned boreal jack pine fire scar age categories that differed in their burn history and there was a significant difference in Rs T,M between previously 32 v 16 year old (P = 0.000) and previously 32 v 59 year old (P = 0.044) scars. There was a strong significant exponential increase in S R T,M with time since fire (r2 = 0.999; P = 0.006) for the chronosequence 0, 16 and 59 years post fire, and for all these age categories, Rs T,M was significantly different from one another (P < 0.05). The Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) was used to model vegetation re-growth over successional time at Sharpsand Creek, though it appeared to perform poorly in simulating leaf area index and canopy height. JULES probably over estimated heterotrophic Rs at Sharpsand Creek when Ts corrected simulated values were compared with measured Rs T,M. The results of this study contribute to a better quantitative understanding of Rs in boreal jack pine fire scars and will facilitate improvements in C cycle modelling. Further work is needed in quantifying autotrophic and heterotrophic contributions to soil respiration in jack pine systems, monitoring soil respiration for extended time periods after fire and improving the ability of JULES to simulate successional vegetation re-growth.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Art in Dramatic Arts / My dissertation presents a textual analysis of John Greyson and Jack Lewis's South African film, Proteus (2003), which is based on archival records and plots the never-before-told narrative of an intimacy between two inmates on 16th century Robben Island. Locating this same-sex intimacy in the 1700s Cape Colony has far-reaching implications when considered in relation to the increasingly pervasive twenty-first century discourse which proposes that homosexuality is necessarily 'unAfrican'. The film's social and political commentary is, therefore, significant for how we might think about sexuality, among other subjectivities, in post-apartheid South Africa. By analysing the film's formal and thematic attributes, I demonstrate that the directors' protean approach to filmmaking has queering effects for the linear notion of time and the cohesive conceptualisation of identity that the colonial archive tends to reinforce. I suggest that commonsense notions of time, space, language and identity that structure the archive have allowed for multiple fissures to develop along the trajectory from past to present. As I show, the aforementioned process has almost effaced from official records narratives, such as the one told in Proteus, that would trouble totalising ideas about the intimate orientations of certain individuals. Therefore, I argue that while the record of this same-sex intimacy does appear in the archive, it has been subsumed by other, more dominant, narratives. The film's work, which I replicate in my reading of it, has been to queer this archive by foregrounding what has historically been repressed. In my first chapter, I argue that by enacting what Halberstam (2005) terms a mode of 'queer temporality', Proteus carves out spaces in the archive for alternative renditions of history to come into visibility in ways that demand fluidity and heterogeneity. I propose that the strategic filmic mechanisms employed in Proteus necessarily engender nuanced spectatorial procedures, which call on the spectator to engage reflexively with the film. I continue to argue for the spectator's need to be particularly reflexive throughout the dissertation. My second chapter deals with the filmmakers' strategic use of language in order to present a commentary on the material effects that the acts of 'naming' and 'categorising' have on living bodies. The final chapter explores a critical perspective which has not previously been brought to bear on the film. I examine how Greyson and Lewis construct positions for their main characters from which they may assert their subjectivity - what Mirzoeff (2011) describes as 'the right to look'.

In America today, adolescent boys do not have a structured, ritualized or guided passage From boyhood into manhood. Many young men feel unsure of their manhood even at an age that signifies the transition. This causes young males to need a self--‐created rite of passage. Tramping, the act of travelling by train, hitchhiking or foot, is one way in which young males can independently achieve manhood. This is a literary account of the lives of Jack Kerouac, Chris McCandless, and Zebu Recchia. Their personal stories allow a detailed view of the advantages and disadvantages found in a self--‐created rite of passage. While two of the accounts are successful, in Chris McCandless’s case the rite ends in a transition to death.Tramping as a rite of passage to adulthood seems effective but the danger in self--‐ creation appears to be the lack of guidance that comes in unstructured rites of passage. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2013.

Trata-se de uma leitura crítica do romance On the Road, do escritor norte-americano Jack Kerouac, cujas vida e obra representam a insatisfação social e a manifestação artística de uma geração de poetas e novelistas denominada, nas décadas de 50 e 60, The Beat Generation ou The Beatniks. Esta leitura consiste em uma investigação para estabelecer relações entre a tríade autor-narrador-protagonista na narrativa proposta. Como apoio teórico temos o olhar do filósofo alemão Walter Benjamin. O enfoque escolhido contempla as reflexões de Benjamin sobre autoria, experiência e modernidade; mas, sobretudo, privilegia a sua concepção do flâneur; uma vez que o objetivo do trabalho é mostrar o movimento e o papel exercido pelo mesmo, tanto no corpus literário como na vida do autor Beatnik. Para tanto, esta dissertação está dividida em três partes. A primeira apresenta um breve histórico da situação dos Estados Unidos no pós-guerra, a fim de contextualizar e discutir a criação do movimento Beat como vanguarda artística daquela época. A segunda parte introduz o pensamento de Walter Benjamin acerca do flâneur. Destaca, também, fatos e momentos relevantes de sua vida e obra. Apresenta, ainda, o ponto de vista de Sérgio Rouanet sobre a obra do filósofo. O terceiro momento analisa o romance On the Road em conexão com os movimentos do flâneur e no âmbito da tradição de Literatura de Viagem, dando relevância às questões de autoria. Deste modo, na conclusão, espera-se legitimar o papel do flâneur no espaço narrativo e, também, histórico-social daquela geração. / This is a critical reading of On the Road, a novel by the North American writer Jack Kerouac, whose life and work represent the social dissatisfaction and the artistic manifestation of a generation of poets and novelists denominated, in the decades of 50 and 60, The Beat Generation, or The Beatniks. The work consists of an investigation to establish relationships among the triad author-narrator-protagonist in the proposed narrative. Supported by the theory of Walter Benjamin, the chosen theme contemplates the reflections of Benjamin about authorship, experience and modernity; but, above all, it privileges his conception of the flâneur; once the objective of the work is to show his movement and role in the literary corpus, as well as in the life of the Beatnik author. This thesis is divided in three parts. The first presents a brief historical comment on the situation of the United States in the postwar period, in order to contextualize and discuss the creation of the Beat Movement as an avantgardist manifestation. The second part introduces Kerouac and Benjamin, highlighting facts and important moments of their lives and work through the movements of the flâneur. The third moment analyzes On the Road in connection with Walter Benjamin's thoughts and in the extent of the tradition of Travel Literature, emphasizing the relevance of authorship. In the conclusion, I expect to legitimate the role of the flâneur in the narrative and socio-historical scope of that generation.

<p>Eurycoma longifolia (Tongkat Ali / TA) is a Malaysian shrub used to treat various illnesses including male infertility. Considering that TA is also used to improve male fertility and no report&nbsp / regarding its safety has been published, this study investigated the effects of a patented, aqueous TA extract on various sperm and testicular functions. Materials and Methods This study&nbsp / encompasses two parts (part 1: on spermatozoa / part 2: on TM3-Leydig and TM4-Sertoli cells). Part 1: Semen samples of 27 patients and 13 fertile donors were divided into two groups,&nbsp / washed and swim-up prepared spermatozoa, and incubated with different concentrations of TA (1, 10, 20, 100, 2000 &mu / g/ml) for 1 hour at 37&deg / C. A sample without addition of TA served as control. After incubation with TA,&nbsp / the following parameters were evaluated: viability (Eosin-Nigrosin test), total and progressive motility (CASA), acrosome reaction (triple stain technique), sperm production of reactive oxygen&nbsp / species (ROS / dihydroethidium test / DHE), sperm DNA fragmentation (TUNEL assay) and mitochondrial membrane potential (&Delta / &psi / m) (Depsipher kit). Part 2: TM3-Leydig and TM4-Sertoli cells&nbsp / incubated with different concentrations of TA (0.4, 0.8, 1.6, 3.125, 6.25, 12.5, 25, 50 &mu / g/ml) and control (without extract) for 48 and 96 hours. After incubation with TA, the following parameters were&nbsp / evaluated: viability (XTT), cell proliferation (protein assay), testosterone (testosterone ELISA test) and pyruvate (pyruvate assay). Results Part 1: For washed spermatozoa, significant&nbsp / dose-dependent trends were found&nbsp / for viability, total motility, acrosome reaction and sperm ROS production. However, these trends were only significant if the highest concentrations were included in the calculation. In the swim-up spermatozoa, ROS production of spermatozoa showed a biphasic relationship with its lowest percentage at 10 &mu / g/ml, yet, no significance could be&nbsp / observed (P=0.9505). No influence of TA could be observed for sperm DNA fragmentation nor &Delta / &psi / m.</p>

<p>Eurycoma longifolia (Tongkat Ali / TA) is a Malaysian shrub used to treat various illnesses including male infertility. Considering that TA is also used to improve male fertility and no report&nbsp / regarding its safety has been published, this study investigated the effects of a patented, aqueous TA extract on various sperm and testicular functions. Materials and Methods This study&nbsp / encompasses two parts (part 1: on spermatozoa / part 2: on TM3-Leydig and TM4-Sertoli cells). Part 1: Semen samples of 27 patients and 13 fertile donors were divided into two groups,&nbsp / washed and swim-up prepared spermatozoa, and incubated with different concentrations of TA (1, 10, 20, 100, 2000 &mu / g/ml) for 1 hour at 37&deg / C. A sample without addition of TA served as control. After incubation with TA,&nbsp / the following parameters were evaluated: viability (Eosin-Nigrosin test), total and progressive motility (CASA), acrosome reaction (triple stain technique), sperm production of reactive oxygen&nbsp / species (ROS / dihydroethidium test / DHE), sperm DNA fragmentation (TUNEL assay) and mitochondrial membrane potential (&Delta / &psi / m) (Depsipher kit). Part 2: TM3-Leydig and TM4-Sertoli cells&nbsp / incubated with different concentrations of TA (0.4, 0.8, 1.6, 3.125, 6.25, 12.5, 25, 50 &mu / g/ml) and control (without extract) for 48 and 96 hours. After incubation with TA, the following parameters were&nbsp / evaluated: viability (XTT), cell proliferation (protein assay), testosterone (testosterone ELISA test) and pyruvate (pyruvate assay). Results Part 1: For washed spermatozoa, significant&nbsp / dose-dependent trends were found&nbsp / for viability, total motility, acrosome reaction and sperm ROS production. However, these trends were only significant if the highest concentrations were included in the calculation. In the swim-up spermatozoa, ROS production of spermatozoa showed a biphasic relationship with its lowest percentage at 10 &mu / g/ml, yet, no significance could be&nbsp / observed (P=0.9505). No influence of TA could be observed for sperm DNA fragmentation nor &Delta / &psi / m.</p>

Transportation and installation of offshore wind turbines (Tower, Nacelle and Rotor) is a complete process conducted over several phases, usually in sequence. There are several factors that can turn this process into a challenge. These factors can either be due to offshore site conditions or the technical limitations of the installation vessels. Each project has its own characteristic parameters and requires a unique optimum solution. This paper identifies the dynamics of the installation process and analyzes the effects of each phase on the progression of events.The challenges in wind turbine installations due to offshore environment were investigated, the effects of each were explained and their significances were stressed. Special installation vessels were examined and their technical specifications were analyzed in terms of working conditions, dimensions, service performances, and crane capacities as well as projecting future design trends. Several offshore wind farm projects were analyzed; their installation methods were specified, and compared to each other to determine advantages and disadvantages of different pre-assembly concepts. The durations of the sub-phases of the process were defined in terms of different variables such as site conditions and individual vessel performance. These definitions were used for making time estimations, and conducting further analyses regarding the effects of different site specific parameters on the overall project duration.In conclusion, this study considered the main operation parameters in an offshore wind turbine installation context: the benefits and drawbacks of different pre-assembly methods were researched and evaluated resulting in new knowledge and a productive contribution for optimizing “the offshore turbine transportation and installation process”, based on actual time usage.

Using an analysis of the creation of the character Dan Kelly in my play, risk, I argue that fairytale characters work as more than personage representations. They function on a big canvas for the audience; they carry large chains of association. Given this, I then propose that the human response is to infer additional meaning, meaning beyond the scope of plot and immediate character interaction - the audience infers symbolic meaning, ‘amplifying’ what is there into more. They enter a ‘generative empty space’ within the play where they infer or ‘unfold’ more meaning. In creating this ‘greater tale’, they are engaged beyond their personal ‘horizon of understanding’, and so, ‘take in’ the work through a heightened perceptual acuity. Therefore, I pursued the idea of making space for the operation of this process, of leveraging the creation of meaning around a character. My inquiry led me to believe that a powerful way to do this was through absence rather than presence and silence rather than sound; and this had a profound impact on my choice of form for Dan Kelly: he progressed, through a number of stages, from reportage to a digital representation.

The democratic process in Myanmar has been a troublesome one. Since the democratic wave arrived the country has witnessed an intense conflict which has led to something that the Human Rights Watch has called an ethnic cleansing. This essay focuses on the institutional instability and will try to explain how the instability and its product of low civil knowledge contributes to the manipulation of the people by the state elites, in this case the military. The main theory that is used during this essay is created by the political scientist Jack Snyder who writes about how weak institutional development in democratic processes has a greater risk of getting hijacked by elites within states who does not want to give up all of their power to the democratic force. This essay will also use theories from other political scientists such as Robert Dahl to strengthen some of the arguments about the democratic process. The questions that this essay will discuss is whether the weak institutional situation and the low civic skills together with the manipulation by the military is the main problem to the chaotic situation we are witnessing today. To approach this problem the essay will examine three important institutional parts of the Myanmar society to try and create logical conclusions about the situation based on Jack Snyder's theory.