Water resources in South Africa are scarce, and should therefore be protected against pollutants, also from persistent organic pollutants (POPs). POPs are a global concern due to their ubiquitous presence, persistence and toxicity. This is emphasised by the Stockholm Convention on POPs, which aims at reducing and ultimately eliminating them. South Africa signed and ratified the treaty, and it became international law on 17 May 2004, but there is still a lack of information regarding POPs in South Africa. This study focussed on establishing the levels of POPs and other organic pollutants, which included various organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dioxin-like compounds (DLCs), non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE). Sampling regions included the industrial cities – Cape Town, Richards Bay, Durban and Bloemfontein, and low-income, high density residential areas surrounding a wetland in Soweto/Lenasia and Botshabelo. Additionally, rivers flowing into neighbouring countries, rivers in the vicinity of paper and pulp producers and high altitude rivers were included. Sediment samples were firstly screened for the presence of DLCs by the H4IIE-luc bio-assay, whereafter sites eliciting quantifiable responses were selected for further chemical analysis by high resolution gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS). Of the 96 sites, only 23 had quantifiable levels of DLCs. These sites were mainly of industrial, semi-industrial or low-income residential nature. PAHs were the predominant class of compounds at most of the sites, while OCPs and PCBs were present in moderate concentrations and PBDEs in minor concentrations. The concentration of pollutants measured in South African soils and sediments were intermediate when compared to the levels measured in some European, Asian and Scandinavian countries, with the exception of a few sites where exceptionally high levels of compounds were measured. The carbon content normalized concentrations of certain compounds at some of the sites exceeded the Canadian sediment quality guidelines. The estimated cancer risk associated with dermal absorption of OCPs measured in this study was negligible when compared to the background cancer risk expected for South Africans due to life style factors. However, it was estimated that dermal exposure to PCBs, DLCs and PAHs may lead to severe increases in cancer cases, and may seriously impact on human health. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Environmental Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

This thesis brings the philosophies of Jean-Luc Nancy, Slavoj Zizek and Bruno Latour into conversation around the cynosure of ecological rhetoric. It argues for a renewed contemplation of political ecology, one that relinquishes the concept of Nature in favour of the overtly politicized notion of a world in common. By tracing, for the first time, the intersections between these three thinkers’ respective philosophies of nature, this thesis strives to articulate a philosophical framework that can live up to the ecological challenges of the contemporary Anthropocene. / Graduate / 0422 / 0401 / 0298

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a threat to the environment and human health because they are ubiquitous, resistant to degradation, can bio-accumulate in organisms and bio-magnify in food chains. They have a detrimental effect on the reproductive, nervous and immunity systems of vertebrates. An international treaty, the Stockholm Convention on POPs, came into force in 2004 and aims to limit and eventually prohibit any use and unintentional production of POPs. South Africa ratified the Convention in 2002. Those compounds currently listed by the Stockholm Convention as POPs include chlorinated pesticides such as dichlorodiphenyltrichlorethane (DDT), chlordane and dieldrin, and industry-related compounds such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and hexachlorobenzene. Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) are also regarded as POPs but - together with some PCBs - they are the unintentional result of anthropogenic activity. This study focussed on the PCDDs, PCDFs and dioxin-like PCBs in the aquatic environment of South Africa particularly because the water resources in this country are under pressure. Despite the fact that South Africa has the sources of these compounds, little is known about the levels of these three groups of compounds. The concentration of twelve dioxin-like PCBs, seven PCDDs and ten PCDFs were determined for 22 sites selected on the grounds of their proximity to possible pollution sources. Analytical determinations included gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and a cell-based bio-assay, the H4IIE-/17C reporter gene assay. Possible sources of the observed pollution were inferred using the following statistical investigative methods: principal component and hierarchical cluster analysis. Seven of the sites had levels higher than the threshold effect concentration of Canada's sediment quality guidelines of 0.85 ngTEQ kg'1 (Toxic Equivalency Quotient). The other sites had lower levels. The highest concentration, 17.8 ng TEQ kg"1, was measured at a site in the southern Gauteng Province. Most of the PCDD/F pollution seemed to have come from combustion sources related to human activity, rather than industrial combustion. Most of the dioxin-like PCB pollution seemed to have been from commercial PCB preparations. Future research would require better characterisation of the sources in order to reduce the formation of these compounds, but also to better understand the exposure and risk scenarios, if humans are to be in close contact with these sources. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Zoology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Texte remanié de: Thèse 3# cycle--Lettres--Paris X, 1969. / Thèse soutenue sous le titre : "Cinéma moderne et société de consommation.

Th. 3e cycle--Institut d'art et d'archéologie--Paris 1, 1971. / Mention parallèle de titre ou de responsabilité : 'Oi toihografies tou 'Osiou Louka : ta dutika parekklēsia / Theanō Hatzēdakē-Mpahara ; prol., André Grrabar. Notice translittérée du grec selon ISO R/843 (1968). Bibliogr. p. 189-199. Index.

Zugl.: Bremen, Univ., Diss., 2008

Zugl.: Bremen, Universiẗat, Diss., 2008.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 255 p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 234-255). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

La thèse actuelle présente une étude de l’œuvre complète du dramaturge, écrivain, metteur en scène et acteur français contemporain Jean-Luc Lagarce (1957-1995) dont la création dramatique a été pleinement reconnue après son décès et la découverte de sa dernière pièce Le Pays lointain qui a tout de suite connu un énorme succès critique et a été plusieurs fois mise en scène. Organisée en quatre chapitres majeurs, la présente recherche rencontre nécessairement les préoccupations des spécialistes du langage et plus particulièrement de la linguistique conversationnelle et de l'approche pragmatique. Ce regard croisé permet une réflexion sur la nouvelle poétique dramatique et littéraire de Jean-Luc Lagarce centrée sur la complexité inhérente à la réalisation empirique de la parole, au lieu de se réduire à un simple fonctionnement des interactions verbales attestées dans la société contemporaine. L’œuvre de Jean-Luc Lagarce se présente ainsi comme la résultante dramatique, stylistique et littéraire spécifique de ce théâtre discursif qu’est le « théâtre du langage ». / The present thesis presents a study of the complete work of contemporary French playwright, writer, director and actor Jean-Luc Lagarce (1957-1995) whose dramatic creation was fully recognized after his death and the discovery of his last play The Far Country, which has immediately been enormously critical and has been staged several times. Organized into four major chapters, this research necessarily meets the concerns of language specialists and more particularly of conversational linguistics and the pragmatic approach. This cross-look allows a reflection on Jean-Luc Lagarce's new dramatic and literary poetics centered on the complexity inherent in the empirical realization of speech, instead of being reduced to a mere functioning of verbal interactions attested in contemporary society. The work of Jean-Luc Lagarce thus appears as the dramatic, stylistic and literary resultant specific to this discursive theater that is the "theater of language".

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