This dissertation is an examination of the interiority of American authorship from 1815–1866, an era of political, social, and economic instability in the United States. Without a well-defined historical narrative or an established literary lineage, writers drew upon death and the American landscape as tropes of unity and identification in an effort to define the nation and its literary future. Instead of representing nationalism or collectivism, however, the authors in this study drew on landscapes and death to mediate the crises of authorial displacement through what I term "xenotopia," strange places wherein a venerated American landscape has been disrupted or defamiliarized and inscribed with death or mourning. As opposed to the idealized settings of utopia or the environmental degradation of dystopia, which reflect the positive or negative social currents of a writer's milieu, xenotopia record the contingencies and potential problems that have not yet played out in a nation in the process of self-definition. Beyond this, however, xenotopia register as an assertion of agency and literary definition, a way to record each writer's individual and psychological experience of authorship while answering the call for a new definition of American literature in an indeterminate and undefined space.

Increasing attention to sustainability and environmental concerns implies changes in consumer preferences, whereof companies need to provide offerings characterized with a focus on sustainability laden concepts such as the Circular Economy (CE), aligning with these changes. How to communicate sustainability has therefore become a focus of attention when formulating marketing strategies. However, sustainability is a complex concept and it could therefore be questioned whether everyone irrespective of, for instance, gender, age, education and other personal attributes perceive it similarly and display similar attitudes toward the concept. Based on a quantitative online survey with 1010 participants, this study examines the impact of personal attributes on the receptiveness of sustainability communication and customer loyalty in the context of Peer to Peer (P2P) marketplace platforms, and discerns how sustainability communication and customer loyalty are interrelated. Also, it explores whether sustainability communication from providers of P2P marketplace platforms can be considered to play a role in accelerating the transition to a CE. Findings suggest that personal attributes affect the receptiveness of sustainability communication and loyalty intentions, this was particularly evident for females and individuals living a sustainable lifestyle. The findings also reveal a positive relation between sustainability communication and customer loyalty, where environmental engagement, consistency between preferences for a certain appeal and actions made on the basis of the same preference, along with trustworthy content seem to strengthen that relationship. Lastly, the findings conclude that sustainability communication from P2P marketplace platforms providers can increase the number of individuals trading pre-owned items which implies for more people participating in resource-efficient activities, which ultimately fosters a CE. / Ökad uppmärksamhet kring begreppet hållbarhet och miljöfrågor innebär förändrade konsumentpreferenser med högre krav på hållbara lösningar, varav företag behöver erbjuda produkter och/eller tjänster som präglas av hållbarhet för att möta kundernas behov. Hur man kommunicerar hållbarhet har således blivit en viktig aspekt när företag utformar sina marknadsföringsstrategier. Hållbarhet är däremot ett komplext begrepp, varav det kan ifrågasättas om alla oavsett kön, ålder, utbildningsnivå och andra personliga egenskaper har en liknande attityd gentemot hållbarhet, och uppfattar hållbarhetskommunikation på samma sätt. Baserat på en kvantitativ onlineundersökning med 1 010 deltagare undersöker denna studie effekterna av personliga egenskaper på mottagligheten av hållbarhetskommunikation och kundlojalitet i kontexten peer-to-peer (P2P) marknadsplattformar, samt hur hållbarhetskommunikation och kundlojalitet står i relation till varandra. Studien undersöker också om hållbarhetskommunikation kan anses påskynda övergången till en cirkulär ekonomi. Resultaten från studien ger en indikation på att personliga egenskaper påverkar mottagligheten för hållbarhetskommunikation och konsumentens intentioner att vara lojal. Detta var särskilt påtagligt för kvinnor och individer som lever en hållbar livsstil. Resultaten visar även på en positiv relation mellan hållbarhetskommunikation och kundlojalitet, varav högre miljöengagemang, preferenser som går i linje med handlingar, och trovärdigt innehåll tenderar att stärka denna relation. Slutligen kan det konstateras att hållbarhetskommunikation kommunicerat av P2Pmarknadsplattformar kan öka antalet personer som säljer och köper begagnade föremål, varav fler människor deltar i resurseffektiva aktiviteter, vilket främjar övergången till en cirkulär ekonomi.

Text in Afrikaans / Fraud is a worldwide phenomenon that is on the increase and a reason for serious concern. It is a priority crime in South Africa with serious implications both financial and socially. Fraud costs this country R150 milliard, almost three times the cost of the controversial weapon transaction. This was the goals of the researcher to determine what motivates the offender to commit fraud and how can fraud be explained in this study. A qualitative approach was followed due to the qualitative nature of the concept motivation. This resulted in a two-phase approach namely a documentary study, which was followed by interviews with experts in the field of fraud. Ten pre-sentence court reports of fraudsters were studied where after the outcome was discussed with these experts. The criminal event model served as framework for this study. Strain was incorporated as an additional component in the explanation of fraud. / Criminology / M. A. (Criminology)

Text in Afrikaans / Fraud is a worldwide phenomenon that is on the increase and a reason for serious concern. It is a priority crime in South Africa with serious implications both financial and socially. Fraud costs this country R150 milliard, almost three times the cost of the controversial weapon transaction. This was the goals of the researcher to determine what motivates the offender to commit fraud and how can fraud be explained in this study. A qualitative approach was followed due to the qualitative nature of the concept motivation. This resulted in a two-phase approach namely a documentary study, which was followed by interviews with experts in the field of fraud. Ten pre-sentence court reports of fraudsters were studied where after the outcome was discussed with these experts. The criminal event model served as framework for this study. Strain was incorporated as an additional component in the explanation of fraud. / Criminology and Security Science / M. A. (Criminology)